Rite of Slumber, Part 1: A Murmur In The Dark
by KoshKing777
Summary: The world's biggest unintentional pimp, Lyner Barsett, is back in this followup to the game Ar Tonelico.The friends unite and hunt down 5 extremely powerful reyvateil abominations that threaten to destroy the world a third time.Rated T for strong violence
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Um, I don't own Ar Tonelico, but it's awesome… thumbs up! XD

There's spoilers abound here

The ending I went with was choosing Shurelia on Misha's pathway at the end of the 3rd Phase. However, in this story, Lyner is still in love with all 3 girls, and hasn't yet chosen one.

And away we go

Warning: This chapter has some very violent moments. Not for kids, nor is it especially pertinent to the rest of the story.

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Prologue

Michaelis Rade looked up blankly at his father's scarred face. "What's in the box, Dad?"

Bourd Rade's look of excitement was quickly replaced by a scowl. "What the… HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME FATHER!?!" he roared at the green-and-black-striped haired six-year old. He sat his massive bulk down on a red armchair grumpily. He took a sip of champagne to calm his nerves. "It's 'Master.'" He clarified.

Michaelis nodded quickly, "I know, I'm sorry, my apologies Master." He fell into a kind of awkward bow.

"Darn right you are." Bourd snorted. He leaned forward, looking more ambitious, if possible, than Michaelis had ever seen him. He patted the box, eyeing it with both greed and pride. "Go on; open it kid. It's my gift for you, for your help this past year."

Michaelis merely looked at his master. "Oh; that's right," Bourd said (although Michaelis was sure he hadn't forgotten), "I gotta set ya loose."

Bourd stooped and elicited a black key from his pocket. He jut it in the steel collar that Michaelis was wearing, and jerked the key clockwise. As usual, Michaelis's face contorted in a silent scream; every time the key did its work, it twisted the skin on Michaelis's neck, making a spiral bruise of skin that was scarred beyond repair.

Free from the foot's length of free reign that was typically granted him, Michaelis struggled to his shaky legs, but his face was set in stone. He walked without support, albeit shakily, to the plain brown shipment box in front of him. As he was instructed, he ripped open the top of the box. To his shock, a fantastically beautiful redheaded girl his age lay curled up in the box. Her bright, glittering eyes whispered a silent "hello" to him, but beyond that (and like Michaelis's), betrayed no emotion. Enchanted, he extended his hand to the nude girl to help her out. Just as their fingers touched, and Michaelis and the girl shared a private, brief explosion of emotion together, Bourd rested his massive gloved hand on Michaelis's shoulder.

"That won't be necessary, kid," he said with an insane smile, and kicked the box roughly over to prove his point. The girl tumbled out with a grunt from the blow, and stood up, blinking twice to remove the shock from her eyes.

Bourd noticed the flash of emotion and frowned, but went on to introduce the two children to each other . "Michaelis Orion Rade, I would like to introduce you to a beautiful thing indeed; a new order of Reyvateils, a superior generation!" He nodded with pride to the redhead. "This is RT-5Z, the prototype for my personally-designed Omega Generation of Reyvateils."

Michaelis nodded, his eyes slits. "Only a man of your wisdom and knowledge could create something as wonderful as this, Master."

RT-5Z extended her hand, a smile dancing in her eyes. "It is a pleasure to meet you, my handsome Michaelis."

Charmed, Michaelis was about to utter, "The pleasure I feel now is greater than any you could possibly imagine," when Bourd, with an expression of insane rage on his grey-skinned face, hauled his bulk across the room faster than Michaelis believed possible toward RT-5Z.

"Is that some emotion I detect??" Bourd whispered harshly into her ear, then wound back his fist and landed it down with massive force on the child's skull, causing her to scream. "And what's this screaming??" Bourd cried with ludicrous anger, smashing her head again.

He stooped and looked up at his son with a grin. "Sorry kid, I thought I got all the bugs worked out, I'll make sure they're perfectly aligned before I make the next Omega." His face recontorted, and he smacked her with his iron knuckles, splitting a narrow crack in her skull.

Michaelis was taken aback by shock, but he dared not show it, for his face might be the next to get nailed. So instead he stood with his hands clasped in front of him, watching his new partner bleed on herself at his father's doing. She finally stopped screaming and managed to squeeze her facial expression back into control.

Bourd beckoned Michaelis over, and he walked in front of the beautiful naked girl, the blood cascading down her shoulders. He looked intently into her eyes, trying to communicate without showing it that it was all going to be alright, that he would take care of her as soon as possible. But Bourd must have caught this hint of an emotion in his son, and ordered, "Hit her. Now.'

Michaelis took a deep breath, and replied, "Yes master," not daring to look Bourd in the eye. He slapped RT-5Z hard, the loud echo reverbating throughout the room. She managed to keep her expression under control, to Michaelis's pride.

"What was that?!?! Some kind of pussy slap?!??" Bourd exclaimed, suddenly as jovial as if he were Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. "HIT HER!!!!!!!!! Now." He roared, a waterfall of saliva spraying on Michaelis's set face.

Michaelis briefly closed his eyes, talking himself into it. "She's just a machine that Master made," he thought. Then he punched her with an amount of might Bourd didn't know Michaelis had, snapping RT-5Z's head back swiftly, so that her beautiful, pale neck was exposed to him.

During this action, Bourd watched RT-5Z's expression closely, which miraculously remained steady. "Ah," he said, like a surgeon might say when a patient pulled through an operation okay, "Her programming seems to have returned to Maximum Rate-of Operation."

He nodded behind the kids towards the back of the hideout. "Now, kid, for phase two of my present to you, follow me into the back room. I have a surprise for you!"

"Yes Master." Michaelis said emptily. Inside, however, he felt a flood of curiosity. He had always wondered what was in that back room, while lying on the cold floor of Bourd's secret base. He wrapped an arm around the blood-covered girl and led her as gently as possible into the next room. He forced down a sudden impulse to kiss her passionately. From the first day he had heard about Reyvateils, he had always wanted a partner more than anything else in the world. Sitting in the room by himself with nothing to do but daydream increased his want for a Reyvaleil almost to the breaking point. But somehow, he had pictured the scene where he would meet his partner as occurring slightly differently than what happened in his bedroom just a moment ago.

The two children entered the next room next to the giant that was Bourd, and stared calmly at the massive machine humming to life. There were two pods designed to hold partners, with a complex series of cords, wires and antennas somehow working together towards the same end: a successful diving between two individuals.

Michaelis knew what this was immediately, and kneeled down before his master on one knee. "Master, your benevolence is too great for words. I couldn't be more satisfied right now."

Bourd seemed satisfied with his apprentice's response. "It is yours to use whenever you wish it. I want you to raise RT-5Z as you see fit."

"What is it, exactly?" the beautiful girl whispered in her partner's ear.

"A dive machine," he explained. "It allows me to enter into your cosmosphere and craft spells with you to increase your power."

"Good," the girl said. "Maybe then Master will give me more grace."

"Maybe so," Michaelis said. "But I wouldn't trust to hope if I were you."

Bourd seemed to be waiting for him to say something, so Michaelis ventured to say, "With all due respect, Master, would it be alright if used the machine now, just as a test run?"

"That sounds wise to me," Bourd announced, baring his teeth. Evidently he couldn't wait to try out his two new machines (RT-5Z and the dive machine).

After both children were stowed in their separate dive pods, Bourd revved up the machine further.

Michaelis spontaneously felt his mind zap through space at light speed, until he suddenly arrived, standing in what seemed to be his physical form in a room of pitch-blackness. He looked around warily; he was aware that he should be in RT-5Z's cosmosphere, but it didn't look like the ones he had heard stories about. In fact, it looked like absolute nothingness, other than a lone ice block some feet away. Michaelis swam through empty space to the ice to find, to his shock, a cute green dragon-looking thing frozen to death in the ice block.

"What the…" Michaelis wondered aloud, when he felt a cold hand touch his shoulder.

"My mind guardian," RT-5Z said, smiling faintly sadly. In this sub-dimension, she appeared unblemished, her beautiful white skin as desirable as ever. "He isn't allowed to exist here, not with that mask here," she said gesturing off into the distance. Michael followed her gesture with his eyes to see a large, pulsating blue Mardi Gras mask draped around an even larger black, marble tower.

"I also can't…feel…anything…" the girl said, searching her soul in desperation for some feeling.

Michaelis hugged her close, wary that his Master was watching, but also wanting to show the beautiful child some glimmer of the appreciation he felt so strongly since he had met her. "I think you need a name," Michaelis said, pulling back and facing her, once again holding his urge to kiss as tightly reigned-in as possible.

RT-5Z cocked a eyebrow. "If you insist, master." With a mere gesture, she clothed herself with a male magician's outfit, and proceeded to pull a scrap of paper from her top hat. "And the winner is…'Blaire'!" she announced, and then, noticing Michaelis's shocked expression, elaborated, "I can do anything you command me to here. My power is only as limited as your imagination."

Michaelis smiled, and nodded to himself. "Alright then," he said, pacing around behind her. "Let's craft some spells then shall we?"

"Okay, then let's." Blaire agreed, once again returning to her former attire (that of wearing absolutely nothing).

Michaelis stroked his beardless chin in thought. 'What sort of spell would please Master, I wonder?" Michaelis pondered. Making up his mind, he whirled to face Blaire.

"Make me a spell that will massacre the church and all who ever worship with its walls," he said with a feral anger.

Blaire curtsied and said, "As you wish." She began to sing, filling up the void of emptiness which they floated in before. As the dark song formed, the darkness itself was whirled into an entire reality made from the images invoked spiritually by Blaire's instant masterpiece. Michaelis and Blaire suddenly seemed to stand at the base of a giant church, and people dressed in white walked all among them, picking flowers and enjoying life to the fullest. Suddenly, a demon's roar unfolded across the land, and a grotesque maw appeared over the town. The people suddenly became overcome by fear, and one by one, their heads exploded into flame. Suddenly, a bloody slash pierced the entire scene, wiping the church and all the people's remains off the face of the planet.

Blaire and Michaelis were all that was left. She turned to face him. "[Red Magic Demon Stare & Slash crafted, Master."

Michaelis smiled, and decided to dare to kiss her, whipping her tongue with his as passionately as possible. He pulled away and looked her in her blank eyes and said, "Y-you're amazing, Blaire."

Blaire nodded in response, concentration evident in her eyes. "Thank you. I hope that [Blue Magic Snogging With Michaelis was sufficiently pleasureable?"

Michaelis laughed. "Yes, you might go so far as to say that."

Bourd smiled and leaned back in his chair. His apprentice showed remarkable ambition, and thus allowed him this moment of passion with his new partner. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The Omega Generation would be a smash hit in both the general public and the operants of Tenba, he knew it.

----------------------------------------------16 years later---------------------------------------------

Rain spewed down on the public of Firefly Alley as Michaelis helped his exceedingly beautiful Reyvateil Blaire off the deep-seek class starship docked at the airport. He took the moment of proximity to kiss Blaire briefly, knowing that it was for his pleasure only, not hers now or forever.

The captain of said ship had been watching the two from the shadow of his ship's wing. He walked into the neon light cast by the city and held his hand out to say goodbye.

Michaelis looked down at the hand briefly, and shook it firmly, with a smile. "Thanks for the lift, sir."

The captain shook his head, his long navy hair flowing through the wind. "Not a problem. And in case we meet again, call me 'Jack.'"

Michaelis smiled, and bowed, his spiky black-and-green hair impressively standing stiffly tall in the downpour. "Until next time then…"

"Wait," Jack said, beckoning him closer, out of Blaire's hearing range. "Is she alright?" Jack said, concerned for the quiet Reyvateil, scars obvious around the back of her head.

"Yeah, don't worry yourself," Michaelis said, a hint of a warning glare glancing off his eyes at the celebrity.

"Alright, alright," Jack said, raising his arms in an "I meant no offense" gesture.

"Oh," Michaelis said, stopping and turning on his heel to say one last thing to Jack. "Good luck – with…you know…" he said, gesturing with his eyes at the figure in the cockpit, who was currently obscured by darkness.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Jack grinned. "I can never catch a break!"

Michaelis laughed. "We'll meet again, be sure of that," he said, and stalked off with Blaire into the night-lit city, all the while fingering the missile launcher strapped to his back.

"Weird guy" Jack muttered to himself, and reboarded his ship to continue his errands, such as they were.

Michaelis looked up at the huge city surrounding him, his hand still in Blaire's. "It's odd," he murmured. "I don't recognize this place at all."

"Technology certainly has outdone itself in the time that we were away," Blaire said, matter-of-factly.

As Michaelis grunted his agreement, a loud video broadcast drew their attention on a neon billboard a hundred feet above the pedestrians.

"We would like to invite you to join Ar Tonelico Today News for an exclusive interview with the hero who defeated Mir and saved the tower from destruction a third time," a reporter with curly blonde hair dictated with lust and breathlessness evident in her voice, "Lyner Barsett!!!!"

The camera swiveled to reveal a Lyner of age 33 grinning sheepishly from behind a podium. A roar from the crowd welcomed the towerwide hero, who typically declined these interviews (he considered them little more than idol-worshipping propaganda). Both Lady Shurelia and Leard Barsett were visible behind the broad-shouldered hero, Shurelia rising and falling rhythmically using the flotation powers of her Linkage armor.

"H-hi, everybody!" Lyner said, blushing a little. People with balloons were bouncing up and down, and countless hands near the stage reached up and wanted to touch his feet.

"What are your thoughts on Bourd Rade?" the reporter asked him enthusiastically, lending the mike to his face.

Relieved for the relevant question, Lyner grinned and leaned forward. "Bourd was an evil, evil monster of a man. His wrongful experimentations on Reyvateils, including my friend Misha, are inexcusable." He racked his brain for something else to say, but deciding that that was satisfactory, he nodded to himself and stood up straight again, continuing to grin goofily. "Next!"

Another reporter piped up. "And what of the newfound evidence of Bourd having a bastard son? How do you think he feels about you?"

"Well…" Lyner said, mulling it over, and then noticed the mike shoved in his face. "Oh, right!" He leaned over again. "I'm sorry to say this, but one ruined life is preferable to the thousands of ruined lives Bourd would have caused had he lived through the Mir crisis…"

Here, Michaelis stopped listening, and threw his head back, releasing a primal howl. His eyes gleamed red with unkempt rage and insanity, and Blaire calmly surveyed him. Any time he saw Lyner, Michaelis fell prey to both his and his master's rage. Hatred of Lyner was his ultimate goal now, his radical experiments just a handy side effect of his quest for revenge.

Once Michaelis calmed down, Blaire asked him, "Are you alright, Master?"

"No," Michaelis admitted. "What I need now is a friend; someone who could suffer with me, and feel what I feel." He closed his eyes and yearned lustfully for just one explosion of passion like what had occurred when he first met RT-5Z. He looked at Blaire. "I know what you would propose, Blaire, but as all of your emotions are fake, that kind of ruins the point, don't you think?" Blaire closed her mouth and nodded.

Michaelis took a deep breath and looked at the neon metropolis glowing in the near distance. "Now we do what we came here for!" he whispered, and he pulled Blaire along with him.

Inside a busy workplace, late-night researchers organized documents and typed in their manually-decorated cubicles. One such worker slurped his cappuccino, and saw to his alarm that the coffee suddenly glowed a fiery red! All the workers stood up and peered over the tops of their cubicles at the wide window series on the North wall, which had now begun to vibrate, and the red intensified.

Suddenly, a gigantic missle burst in, exploding all the cubicles into fragments, which then sliced up their human occupants by blasting into them.

Wet on the ground, far below, Michaelis sneered. "A perfect hit!" He glanced at Blaire. "Dragonspirit, now!"

"Anything for you," Blaire said, and performed a blue burst magic that allowed both her and Michaelis to sprout wings and fly up to the newly opened hole in the side of Tenba Corp. (Dragonspirit also increases its targets' rage and fighting skills)

Upon landing, they were received by an assault of machine gun fire. "Ack," Michaelis said, blocking Blaire with his armor and rolling out of the way on the broken glass. He stowed his rocket launcher and replaced it with a custom flogging whip, which he slashed the group of guards with, displacing an array of blood and organs across the floor. Michaelis then rolled under the ensuing crossfire, stood up, ripped a guard's mask off with one swipe of the whip, and then whipped again, ripping most of the man's face off. Michaelis laughed maniacally, taking pleasure in his acts of destruction.

Blaire vaulted off his back, leapt high in the air, and hit two more guards in the face with a mid-air split kick. Within a few more seconds both she and Michaelis wiped out the entire battalion and continued through the building.

The partners came to a corridor filled with lasers. "Alright Blaire, you know what to do," Michaelis said.

"What? Do a little dance?" Blaire quipped, changing her outfit to a floozie dancer's, and then did a little honky-tonk strip dance.

"…Um, no." Michaelis said. "Use [Green Magic Security Suction."

"Blehh, you're no fun" Blaire said, and then cast the magic, which undetectably but efficiently disarmed all the security devices in the corridor, which she sucked into a pulsating white ball floating overhead.

Another legion of guards came running down the corridor, and Michaelis timed his command…"Now!!"

Blaire released the security energy on the guards, which caused all the mechanisms to open fire on and destroy the countless soldiers before them. As the guards were massacred, Michaelis reflected on the beauty of Class Omega Reyvateils – with them, the impossible was quite, quite possible.

After the floor was carpeted with a slew of still corpses, Michaelis led Blaire down the hall.

Soon, they arrived at a huge oak door. "Okay," Michaelis whispered in Blaire's ear. "Ready the spell we prepared especially for her."

"Yes Master," Blaire replied, and began casting.

Michaelis cracked his whip a few times in preparation, and then kicked open the door with his boot. Two massive bodyguards easily the size of his old master awaited him. "You'll go no further," one said.

"Why is it that the big and burly are ALWAYS so stupid?" Michaelis wondered aloud, and then decapitated the two of them with a bladed disk dangling from one of the cords of his flogging whip.

A woman in her late fifties sat behind a desk in the pitch-black room. "I won't go down without a fight!" she cried, and drew a sword from her desk.

"I'm proud of you, Ayano." Michaelis said with contempt. "NOW!!!!!!!!!"

Blaire released her spell, which charged in the form of a black drake. Upon freedom, the spell caused President Ayano to explode from the inside out, coating the entire office with cakey blood. All that remained were two perfectly carved halves of skin and bone lying on the floor.

Michaelis spat a little blood out from the explosion. "Cleanse and Cloak, if you would be so kind, Blaire." The two disappeared, and the blood and rubble that had been on the partners fell to the floor with a 'sploosh.' "And so it begins," Michaelis said to himself, as he and Blaire flew out the open window to cool freedom in Firefly Alley.

Author's Note

Okay, WOW that was dark. Oops. Oh well. Michaelis is the main antagonist. Don't worry, he'll get what's coming to him. Please review, and I'll listen to whatever you have to say, because this is my first fic. :D

And no, WOW doesn't stand for 'World of Warcraft' in this context. Nice try though.

Oh, also, how can I suggest Ar Tonelico as a separate gaming category? I just stuck it in Atelier Iris because they're both made by the same company…


	2. Diving and Deliberations

Author's Note: I don't own anything, except my guitar.

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 1: Diving, Deliberations

(In the Soulspace)

Red Alert lights spiraled in the alien corridor as Lyner sprinted, his giant Monolith slung over his shoulder. A white-faced alien soldier landed in front of him, a phaser pointed at his skull. "Freeze and you will not be harmed!!"

Lyner snickered at the lack of threat the soldier posed, and punched him out with his armored fist.

As Lyner stepped over the man, he was punched, hard from below. "OW! What the-" the Apostle of Elemia began, but then looked confusedly at the sight below. The alien had split into two selves, both with phasers drawn. "We are the Drakiri. There is no hope. Surrender at once!"

Lyner paused, and then burst down the hall running as fast as possible. "Well, there's always hope for those who run!" he exclaimed, dancing to dodge the shots fired at him from behind.

As he turned the corner, he saw an elevator at the end of the hallway. "Alright!" he exclaimed. "Only one more floor to go till the interrogation wing!" This was the kind of thing he lived for, the sort of action he felt every man should experience in the Soulspace. 'Evading swinging blades, bullets, lasers, spiked poms erupting from the ground… how can you get more fulfilled than that?!' Lyner thought as each of the above appeared, threatening but not succeeding to halt his penetration of the Drakiri base. 'I just hope she's alright…"

(In Interrogation Chamber No. 6)

Shurelia was smacked onto the ground by a steel black glove.

"UP! NOW! AND ANSWER ME!!" the Drakiri King roared.

Shurelia glared at him and slowly rose to her knees, her eyes more piercing than brilliant diamonds. "I already told you, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

The King screamed. "Lies!!!! LIES!!!!" He procured a pulsating-green pouch from his armor. "How could you happen to have one of the Sacred Quaid Orbs, and not even know what it was?!?"

"I already told you, a peddler dumped it on me back home at Plaintine…"

The King furiously nodded to his torture mechanic. "Inject her, again!"

The soldier nodded and stuck a giant needle straight into her brain. Shurelia knew she couldn't last much longer; the poison was starting to eat away at her insides. Yet she held on to the fool's hope that a knight in shining armor would come to her rescue before it was lights out for her.

Sure enough, a blade cut through the door, and Lyner burst through, his hair on fire for some reason. "Ow!ow!ow!ow!ow!ow!ow!ow!" he cried, and danced around the cell like he was doing the riverdance. He kicked the doctor in the face and bashed the king's face with his head, trading the flames over to the king's skin.

Looking up, and shaking the smoke from his spiky blonde hair, Lyner noticed two Drakiri guards holding Shurelia to their side, a phaser at her head. "Make one move and she's fried!" the guard warned, the fear evident in his voice.

Lyner grinned. "Shurelia! Get back!" he shouted as he pulled a grenade from his pouch, bit off the pin , and bombed the guards and the doctor. Lyner noticed the king still struggling on the ground, so he stuck the monolith sword into his butthole, and ran over to Shurelia, jumping on top of her with delight.

"Shurelia, you're alright! I was so worried!" Lyner exclaimed, grinning boyishly into her eyes.

"Oh Lyner, I always knew you'd come for me!" she breathed. "I love you, you know," she added.

"And I love you," he said with an excited smile, and then leaned in to kiss her warmly. He stroked her flowing grey-blue hair as reverently as if it were a holy text. It was only after he pulled back that he noticed she was horribly bruised, with a black eye. She was also only clothed in grease-stained lingerie, clearly suggesting that she had been at the mercy of the Drakiri guards in more ways than one.

Lyner cleared his throat and stood up, helping Shurelia up as well. "What do we do now?" he asked.

"Oh!" Shurelia said, her eyes wide. She had been expecting him to ask speak on another subject, apparently. "Well, we need to destroy the Mothership's core, so the Drakiri will be forced to end their galactic reign of terror."

"Alright! Sounds awesome!" Lyner said, rubbing his hands together eagerly, and was about to sprint out the door when Shurelia put her hand on his shoulder.

"Lyner…"

"Yes?" Lyner said, turning around and waiting expectantly.

"Well..?"

"Wha-at?" Lyner said, waiting for Shurelia to hint at what she wanted to talk about.

Shurelia shyly broke eye contact. "Um, what do you…think?"

"Of the program?" Lyner said, his eyebrow cocked. Suddenly it dawned on him. "Ohhhhhh! You mean your outfit."

"Yeah!" Shurelia said excitedly. Her cosmosphere costumes had quickly become her number-one interest in diving with her boyfriend. "How do you like it!?" she said, stiking a suggestive pose.

"Well…" Now it was Lyner's turn to break eye contact. "It's, uh, really hot." He said a little unconvincingly.

"Yay!" Shurelia exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping her hands repeatedly. In reality, Lyner didn't like the costume much, mostly because it represented another attempt by Shurelia to seduce him. For a while, they had been fighting about whether or not to have a child, and Lyner resented her repeatedly trying to take him to bed with her. He simply did not feel worthy to have that kind of relationship with a being as close to godhood as Shurelia was. Lyner felt he gave her plenty of love, since he inwardly worshipped her every time she entered his mind; just being at her side was more than enough to sate his love for her. But apparently she wanted more from him, and it was here and here alone that her wants ran contradictorily to his desires.

"Hey! You alright?" Shurelia exclaimed, sticking her face up to his and grinning with pleasure. "Why do you all of a sudden look so down?"

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it," Lyner assured her, smiling feebly. He shook his head to clear his thoughts for the arduous task ahead. "Let's head to the core then, baby!" he said, wrapping his arm around her slender, dark-skinned waist, knowing that would please her. For some reason, whenever Lyner treated her like a common concubine, she got the happiest. Shurelia giggled and pressed herself up to her hero, groping his chest.

"Oo, wait, I almost forgot!" Lyner said, and drew the Monolith Sword out from the Drakiri King's nether regions, shaking the junk off as he did. "Let's do this thing!" he cried, and Shurelia screamed in utter bliss with him as they ran down the hall, decimating every living threat that opposed them.

(2 Hours Later)

Lyner and Shurelia returned to Platina by means of their personal Dive Shop in Lyner's mansion. "Thank you, Byron, you did well today!" Lyner cheered his personal Dive Operant from the pod.

"I love to serve the house of Barsett." Byron said, bowing deeply.

"No, what you love is serving money," Lyner corrected him jovially. "but I have that too." Lyner fished around in his trousers. "I think." After he found the proper stash of Leaf he bounded over to Byron and paid him.

Byron looked like he had just been named People Magazine's Sexiest Man of the Year as he stared at the superfluous supply of leaf in his clutches. "Th-thank you!!" he stuttered. "My Lord Barsett knows best after all!"

"Meh…" Lyner said, waving him off. "Save the sucking-up for someone who cares; like my father!" He said, a twinkle in his eyes. Shurelia giggled as she got out of her pod, back to her normal everyday attire, that of an Orange-and-Purple Yukatu that was Lyner's favorite (She had finally learned how to tie the sash properly).

After Byron left, Lyner and Shurelia jumped over the back of his velvet couch and landed in a mass together, as was their custom after diving. Through the clear glass walls, a rush of airship activity was visible in the city outside. "Can you believe it!?!?" Shurelia squealed.

"I know! We beat ALL 45 of the maximum difficulty dive sims in the Ar Tonelico library!"

"Most people go through, what, FIVE max in a lifetime?!" Shurelia responded amid giggles. She snuggled with him. "Oh Lyner, I'm so happy."

"Me too," Lyner said, holding her close. "I don't want anything to change between us, ever!"

Shurelia sighed contentedly into him, and had just gotten comfortable when Lyder suddenly exploded off the couch. "I'm gonna get us some coffee!" he exclaimed, and zigzagged out of the room into the kitchen, punching the 'Message Waiting' counter as he passed it.

The screen paused, and then loaded a recorded visual message from Leard Barsett. "Ah, Lyner, I see you're not in," Leard said, smiling fondly. "I just wanted to say, nice job handling the press conference today."

"Yeah it was!" Lyner gloated, pouring a steaming cup for him and Shurelia.

"…anyway, I wanted to notify you that, for once, things appear to be quiet on the front. Your friends Jack and Krusche will be arriving shortly in Nemo, so I was wondering if perhaps you would like to fly down there together to say hello; with Lady Shurelia, of course. And while we're at it, why don't I show you some procreation pointers, as the two of you seem to be having some trouble conceiving…" Leard said, his lips pulled back into a crafty smile.

Lyner snorted out some coffee. "Old prick," he said with a smirk; if it wasn't one thing Leard was pestering him about, it was another.

"…I just want a grandkid, that's all!" Leard said, with a jesting leer. "Talk to you later, son. Leard out."

Lyner braced himself, for he knew that Shurelia would suddenly come on strong. Sure enough, she skipped over and took a sip of coffee. She slid her arm around his shoulders and grinned at him. "Well honey…"

"Yes?"

"Remind me again why we're not married yet?"

Lyner took a deep breath and went into his usual rendition. "Because most likely, the kid would be a Reyvateil, and you know how our culture looks down on your people," he said, avoiding Shurelia's loving gaze. "What's more, I don't really want every guy and his little soldiers lusting after her once she comes of age! Think about it, the world-saving couple has finally had a brilliant Reyvateil daughter, what person on the entire tower could possibly be more widely publicized, and thus coveted, by the Jacks of the world??"

Shurelia didn't seem to listen to this, and kissed him on the cheek. "And if he's a guy?"

Lyner blushed. "Shurelia, I don't exactly have the best role model in history for fathering a son!"

"So? We could parent together! I have enough wisdom for the both of us!" She moved in front of him to catch his gaze. "Besides, I love you. And I'm not just throwing that around!" she added when Lyner looked away disbelievingly. "Lyner, I have felt close to many people in the thousands of years I have lived in Ar Tonelico, but I never once loved. Until you came along, that is. On the first day you tried out to be my knight, you captured my heart. From that moment on, you've been the only one for me."

Lyner stared at her. "R-really?? Thanks, Shurelia!"

Shurelia hugged him, burying her face in his warm chest. "Lyner, will you ever marry me?"

"Uh…" Lyner said, his throat suddenly stiffening up with nervousness.

"Could you at least begin to consider it?" Tears began to well up in her turquoise eyes. She knew the real reason for his lack of enthusiasm to both marry her or have a child with her, even if he didn't; a part of him still loved Misha, and another part was likewise devoted to Aurica, his other two singing angels.

"Yes." Lyner said resoundingly with a warm smile, making Shurelia jump in shock. "I promise." Shurelia quickly grinned and pulled him back over to the couch, making out with him passionately. As she did so, Lyner managed (with a notable degree of skill) to use his remote to turn on the TV.

"In Ar Tonelico Today News," a flabbergasted-looking reported began, "A horrendous atrocity took place last night throughout the Tenba Tower, the hulking monolith that protects the people of the Wings of Horus and is home to the sitting Tenba president." Both Lyner and Shurelia shot straight up at this mentioning of Tenba. "There's no easy way to put this, but…(here, the reporter sniffled) President Ayano has been horrifically assassinated!"

The camera switched to an indoor manual telecorder inside the blood-bathed Presidential Office. "Here is a sample of the grisly mess made of former Tenba President Ayano…"

Here Shurelia screamed and bit her fingers in denial, while Lyner cried "THAT is the most awful thing I have EVER seen! Geez!!!"

"Poor President Ayano!" Shurelia sobbed.

"Who would want to murder her!?" Lyner demanded of the TV. "Anti-Elemia extremists, perhaps?"

"Well, whoever it was is clearly psychotically unstable!" Shurelia said, in an attempt to regain her composure, but then buckled and threw up all over Lyner's carpet.

Lyner grabbed her tightly around the chest and rocked with her, crying while she barfed for their lost friend and ally. Both heroes failed to glean whatever else the reporter had to say.

Ten minutes later, Lyner stood up determinedly, a dark cloud over his brow. "This atrocity shall not go unjudged," he said darkly. "I will get to the bottom of this, and make that bastard eat his own bile!" He whirled around. "And you're coming with me!"

"Well of course!" Shurelia screamed. "I wouldn't have it any other way!!!"

Lyner breathed heavily, attempting to calm himself. "I'll go pack, just…stay here and…try to make a plan or something." As he passed the couch, he leaned in and kissed the back of Shurelia's head. "We'll make it right, don't worry. No one else will have to die now that he's made this mistake."

"Yeah…yeah…." Shurelia said, her breasts heaving as she fought back her emotions. "Let's kill him."

Author's Note: Don't worry, Aurica and Misha are coming soon, along with more fantasy action! Please review (if you can even find this story) --


	3. Doldrums meet Darkness

Author's Note: I don't Ar Tonelico, but I like it :D (obviously...)

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 2: Doldrums Meet Darkness

(_Elemia Church Headquarters, Nemo)_

The morning sunlight lazily seeped in the porcelain windows as Aurica lay sprawled on her bed, emotions tugging at her. Her untouched duties as Trinity Divinator this week were beginning to pile, but she no longer cared.

She sighed. She had just gotten an official statement from Nemo's highest-ranking doctor, and its news made her question her priorities. The fan above her sluggishly combed the air, cool air chilling the nervous beads of sweat appearing on her skin.

She slept with her blanket tucked between her legs as usual, sucking on Don Leon's (a stuffed animal made especially for her years ago by Lyner) arm. She had seen Lyner on Ar Tonelico Today yesterday, and she had retired to her room ever since, repeatedly fantasizing about how life could have turned out with him. And it was weighing heavily on her.

Suddenly, Archbishop Radolf burst in, yelling "Trinity Divinator!!!", at which Aurica panicked and spasmodically pulled all of her blankets over her. Radolf made an "oooo…."expression and stood dazedly, preparing to be admonished.

"Radolf!" she hissed. "NEVER come into a lady's room without knocking!!"

Radolf stroked his beleaguered eyes, but couldn't suppress his irritation. "I've been knocking off and on all morning. Lady Aurica, how long are you going to continue this childish behavior? Already, eight more suitors have arrived since last week and wish to get to know you…"

Aurica rolled onto her other side and faced the window, the yellow sunlight spreading across her face, causing a flood of comforting warmth to embrace her. She stuck her lip out poutingly. "That's not ALL they wish to do with me." Radolf sat down on the bed next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and asked slyly, "You know, Radolf, I never see you having any suitors!"

Radolf laughed. "Well, the Archbishop can't get married, that would just be improper!"

Aurica sat up and grinned, clutching Don Leon. "Are you saying my job's any less important? In the last five years since I became Trinity Divinator, we've had, what? A 50 increase in converts to the Church! And I hardly think that's due to your sitting in your office, drinking your tea all day!" she said, punching Radolf playfully on the soldier.

Radolf grinned, leaning back into an unused pillow. "So, you've stopped seeing suitors because..?"

Aurica reached over to her bedside table and drew the write-up from yesterday's check-up and handed it to her old friend. Upon reading it, his expression changed from benign-ness to shock. "Wha- so is this true???"

Aurica nodded, a dry smile on her face. "And so you'll forgive me if I choose not to use this next year to keep on seeing suitors I have never had the slightest interest in."

Radolf sighed. "And your other duties?"

Aurica shook her head. "It just doesn't matter to me anymore… I just want to see Lyner again!" Her voice caught as a tear crept down her face. She sniffed and wiped it off. Why must she be so weak? Why couldn't she get a tough skin, like Lyner had apparently developed for her, and just forget about the guy? Never mind that he dove to her very core without ever even kissing her, and thereafter ran off with Shurelia. Granted, he had known Shurelia first, and had always said he lived to serve her, but…to him, was she just a tool to be thrown away once her use was no longer necessary? "I just have a lot of questions I need to ask him, Radolf…"

"I understand," Radolf said. "Tomorrow, the two of us will set out for Platina. How does that sound?"

Aurica grinned brilliantly and hugged Radolf. "Thank you," she whispered.

He patted her a couple of times, and then pulled away. "So, no training today then?"

Aurica rolled her eyes and glanced out the window again, seeing a lone bird a mile away in the yellow sky. Her eyes glowed red, and suddenly a meteor fell on the bird, making it implode on itself in a fiery flash. "If I can do that, just imagine what I could do to a room full of guys!" she exclaimed. "No one has any chance of ever getting through my spells! So, no, I won't train with you today, old friend."

After Radolf said his farewell and closed the door, Aurica straddled the blanket even tighter. She just wanted to spend one day fantasizing about a relationship with Lyner, her failed opportunity, one that would never arise again. "_It would have been easy to die for you…_" Aurica mouthed.

(_In The Skies Surrounding Floating Wharf)_

Jack was in good spirits as he piloted his deep-probing starship, the _Granny_, with his feet. He and Krusche had, if possible, gained more notoriety than even the heroic couple, Lyner and Shurelia. Jack's main directive was to search out lost civilizations out of the reach of Ar Tonelico's magnetic draw. So far, he had discovered 33 lost islands, floating hundreds of miles away, most of which were suffering from generations of inbreeding and overpopulation. Each time he found one, the news stations on Ar Tonelico gave him and Krusche a hero's welcome; rendering their work the dream job of every child living on the tower. Shurelia's assignment was to find any traces of the three other towers that might have survived the world's destruction, but all the islands they had uncovered so far had been cartographed back into Ar Tonelico's original landscape by expert scientists. Clearly, they weren't seeking far out enough.

Jack stroked his hair and checked it out in a window above the cockpit. 'Still no grey hairs, score!' Jack thought with a smirk. Jack was enjoying life far too much for him to grow old now.

He felt a warm hand embrace his strong neck from behind. Krusche leaned down from above and kissed him. "Good morning, honey." She said, her brown eyes glowing warmly.

"Sleep well?" Jack said, with a playful grin.

"Mm-HM!" Krusche responded knowingly. She jiggled the infant in her arms and kissed her on the forehead. "Hi Crystal! Want to kiss daddy good morning?"

The baby, just starting to grow blue hair, looked at Jack with turquoise eyes, laughed, and then covered its eyes. Jack grinned, and got up. "You're turn to drive, honey."

Krusche yawned. "Why is it ALWAYS my turn?"

"You'll be fine," Jack said with a smile, grabbing a large metallic surfboard and a bottle of sake and heading to a circular elevator to the outer hull of the ship. "We've only got, like, an hour left before we get to Nemo. Enjoy the press-free time while we still have it, heheh!"

"You're dad's a nut," Krusche informed Crystal while beginning to breastfeed her, as she too piloted with her feet.

When said nut reached the outer hull, he turned on his magneboard, which hummed almost indecipherably. He then tossed it in the air, and jumped high… and landed on it, beginning to surf on the ramps and wings of his own ship. Jack was trying to market a new sport, Magnesurfing, an activity he felt let a pilot get more intimate with his own ship. Jack went up one ramp, got some mediocre air, then came back down and ramped off of one of his ship's wings. In midair, he flipped himself upside down and spun on his hat on the board, which he kicked to start spinning the other direction. As he landed on his ship's fuselage, he landed on his hands, and kicked his feet back under him, snaking to maintain speed. Jack then approached the spinning wheel slicing the air on the back of the _Granny,_ once he was feet away, Jack leapt into the air and then ramped off each and every rung of the wheel, picking up air with each one, until he pounced off towards the underbelly of the ship, performing a triple 360 on his elbow.

After he landed, he skidded to a stop, uncorking his sake and slurping it. The possibility of marrying Krusche was outside his code of moral indecency, but ever since they had accidentally conceived Crystal, he had at least tried to avoid openly flirting with any babes on the side, just for appearance's sake. However, just to make himself feel better, he drank twice as much booze to make up for this apparent act of moral benevolence. Jack had always had a sneaking fear that he was growing soft, so he kept rebelling just out of habit.

As he surfed topside, quickly gaining speed, Jack suddenly faltered. A few miles away, yet approaching lightning-fast, a hulking black cloud was following the _Granny_. "Krusche! Double speed to Nemo, NOW! We're being followed!"

"Right!" Krusche replied over the transceiver on Jack's cyber arm. "What IS it?"

Jack paused. "I have no freaking clue. It looks…like a space station from Hell."

As the collection of black smog neared the _Granny_, the accuracy of Jack's observation grew and grew. The smog appeared to a sprawling, 50-story space mansion shaped from some kind of foreign song magic. Thousands of neon-colored windows stared down at the puny ship. The most disturbing part of the eclipsing hulk was a huge, misshapen skull grinning savagely directly at Jack in the nexus of the nebula. The space station cast darkness on the entire Floating Wharf, but the blackness especially landed around Jack, for he could no longer see anything around him but the skull and the windows.

A monolithic black arm of cloud suddenly erupted, reaching towards Jack. Without hesitation, Jack armed his arm cannon and begun unloading lasers, beams, and machine gun rounds at the arm. The arm flinched in pain, but still slowly approached Jack. "Uh-oh," Jack whispered, and surfed to the left in hopes of escape. (By luck, he narrowly avoided a surprise attack from behind)

The skull loosed a radiant, purple lightning bolt from its core, which connected with Jack, who screamed. He felt the arm catch hold of him, which felt oddly comfortable, yet also made him feel a little sick. The arm drew Jack up through miles of air, until he was face to face with the doomsday skull.

"Hello! Capt. Jack Hamilton's shipping services. You name the place, we'll get you there!" Jack said nasally, which prompted the arm to tighten, closing off any further speech from him.

The skull stared deep into the man's soul. "I am Iapetus, Reyvateil of Darkness," it said in a brusque, dark voice from the deep. "You…do not fear me?"

Jack shook his head, managing a cocky grin. "I came to terms with my own eventual demise a long time ago!" he breathed.

The skull's face disturbingly twisted into an even bigger smile. Jack suddenly noticed a gorgeous girl with jet-black skin inside, glaring at him. At that precise instant, the nebula fired a giant black ball of cloud charged with lightning at Jack. He was blasted straight down. As the wind pounded against his backside, the static felt like it was eating up all of his insides. He felt like he was being crushed.

Jack suddenly blasted through the hull of the _Granny_ covered in static, making Krusche jump up, setting Crystal on the pilot's seat. "Jack!!" she screamed in terror. Black ooze rained in from outside, coating Jack, and spreading throughout the interior of the ship. Krusche pulled her bra back on, and revved up her chainsaw. "Let him go!" she yelled, and slashed a black goop spiral that was attempting to strangle Jack, cutting cleanly through.

"Krusche! Behind you!" Jack said in a muffled voice from all the ooze. A black wave that had been building behind Krusche suddenly latched on to the back of her skull, catching her scream within her throat. The darkwater continued to flow into her mind until black drops seeped out of her eyes, and she collapsed in the muck.

Jack roared, and ran out of the monsoon of darkness out of pure will. "Krusche!" he cried, whirling around everywhere. Jack looked through the window of the _Granny_ and froze. The neon skull had leveled itself with the ship, and was grinning awfully at him. Black spears broke through the window, shattering glass everywhere. One spear pierced his heart, and another his artificial gun-arm, disabling it. Jack screamed in a high-pitched voice, and another spear rebounded off the floor and shot straight through his crotch. "Ugh," he groaned, staggering.

He looked around, and found his secret gun, stowed away for emergencies only. Punching through the glass, he grabbed it and aimed it at one of Iapetus's demonic eyes. The skull shook its head with a knowing grin and pivoted Jack on the spot. 'What?!' Jack thought. 'It's controlling me!'

His arm was suddenly pointed at the infant Crystal. "No!!" Jack roared, and used his free arm to attempt to train his gun on himself, but Iapetus's hold on him was greater. Jack roared at the top of his lungs, putting all of his will into turning towards the skull, but Iapetus forced him to pull the trigger before he could even pivot his arm an inch away.

Jack closed his eyes. He didn't want to know what happened. Iapetus's dark laughter sounded throughout the entire Floating Wharf. Jack hugged his legs to himself and rocked, crying. He felt like his own life had been snuffed out.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Krusche's pretty face floating in the muck. "Jack, get us to Elemia!" she said urgently. "They can stop it!"

"Right!" Jack said, his voice cracking with grief. He thrust himself through the pitch black ship and gripped the familiar piloting controls. He willed himself to get to Nemo. Although the darkness threatened to black out his vision, he kept going. He knew the way, he didn't have to see what he was doing…

(_Nemo_)

Aurica eventually fell asleep, dreaming about Lyner. Soon, however, a strange occurrence intervened in the middle of her fantasy date with the Apostle of Elemia; all movement in the dream froze, and Krusche seemed to step out of absolutely nothingness and look her in the eye. Only, it wasn't really Krusche; something malevolently mystical emanated from her persona.

Aurica gasped, sensing the utter unnaturalness of the situation. Krusche's lips parted, and black goo seeped down her chin. "_All will end at the falling of the crow_." The Krusche doll stated simply.

Suddenly, Bourd appeared behind her, his face twisted in a fierce rendition of his standard features. "_Why aren't you looking for me, little girl_?" Aurica yelped and leapt backwards, knocking over a table.

Lyner knelt down next to her, but it was a different one than the one she was on a date with. "_Do you REALLY know me?" _he asked lovingly. He touched her arm with his fingers, and a chill of fright ran up her spine (from what, she didn't know).

"_You see that sword over there?_" Lyner asked, nodding in the direction of a black sword lying on the ground, drenched with blood. Aurica nodded, her face stark white.

"_Pick it up, and kill me!" _Lyner instructed, revealing a set of sharply pointed teeth. Aurica was so frightened that she barely noticed a rotting crow fall from the sky and dive straight into her face, reeking of ash.

Aurica thrust straight up in bed. She vividly remembered the dream, but hadn't the slightest idea what caused it, or more importantly, what it meant. She supposed it must have something to do with her newly diagnosed condition. Aurica touched her leg and noticed that she had been sweating, hard.

Suddenly, Aurica recollected a strange insight she had gleaned from the dream while talking to the Krusche doll. Jack and Krusche were in trouble, and they were headed to Nemo, fast! She jumped out of bed, and ran into the hall, still in her skimpy pajamas.

Aurica closed her eyes, concentrated, and donned her Holy Guardian costume, which was appropriate to a high-ranking religious figure such as herself. As she ran up to the steeple of the church, she fortunately ran into Radolf.

"Trinity Divinator? Why-" he began, stupefied.

"There's no time!" she declared loudly. She poked him hard in the chest, hardly aware of what she was doing. "Jack and Krusche are coming here, now!" she hissed, "and they're bringing a great darkness with them." Radolf just stared at her. "I believe it's THE great darkness, from the Second Age…"

"B-b-but…" Radolf spluttered, "How do you know all this?"

"I just do, alright!" Aurica said, seriously. "I'm going up top to sing; you get a phalanx of knights and meet them at the dock. I just hope they're alright!"

Radolf continued to look unpersuaded, so Aurica said, "Look, if you don't do as I say, right now, I'll kick you in the balls! Go!!!"

Radolf raised his eyebrows warningly, but, seeing as she meant business, ran off to follow her instructions. Aurica continued to scale the church tower.

Meanwhile, Jack kept speeding towards what he hoped was the Nemo port. Why Iapetus was keeping him alive he had no idea, but he decided to use this last bit of life in him to at least show the world of this monster's existence. Maybe then, Lyner and Radolf could figure out some way to defeat it…

Black goo kept creeping over Jack's face, and whenever he brushed it off it would just grow right back again. Jack grimaced. They should be just about there…

As these thoughts passed through Jack's mind, a huge impact shaking throughout the _Granny_ seemed to indicate that they had indeed arrived in Nemo. Jack hurriedly put the ship into park, and tried to jump through the windshield, but the glass stood up against his dive. Flinching and shaking the dizziness out of his head, Jack wound his impaired robotic arm backwards, and smashed through the glass with its steel fist.

Jack slid down the front of his ship and looked around, still unable to see anything. However, the bloodcurling screams of the populace seemed to indicate that Iapetus was indeed still with him, darkening out the city. Jack saw a huge machine gun turret light up in the distance, apparently firing at the skull in the center of the giant hellish castle. Using this single instance of vision as his vantage point, he took off running (as well as he could with two spears embedded in his body) towards the lookout post. Soon, however, he saw the turret fly up in the air after a large crash (probably caused by Iapetus smashing the tower), and bounce towards himself, handily still firing all the while. Jack blocked the impact of the turret with his deadened metal arm, and then, seeing his arm touching the turret, got a crazy idea…

When Aurica reached the top of the steeple, she looked out over her beloved city, and was mortified at what she saw. It seemed that the Day of Reckoning had occurred anew, the devil's place taken by a simply huge black vehicle, seemingly controlled by a living neon skull in the middle. From a distance, she could see Jack firing randomly upwards with a large turret replacing his standard arm-gun, but he seemed to be doing little damage. Aurica immediately sang [Red Magic Sylphan Dance, and the fairy of light flew up through the pitch-black daytime sky towards the horrific abomination. One Blacklight window disconnected from the station above, and flew down into Sylph, utterly annihilating her as if she were a mere fly. The window sucked back up into the monster's massive outer reaches.

Aurica bit her lip. She wasn't at her full power, because no one was in sync with her yet, but Sylph should have at least affected the beast somewhat (seeing as Aurica is one of the most powerful Reyvateils in existence). As she mulled their horrible situation over, she suddenly noticed Radolf appear next to her. "Radolf?!" she asked in shaky disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

He looked into her eyes intently. "I need a boost, Aurica."

"Right, I can do that, at least!" she said, and sang [Blue Magic Booster.

"Thanks," he said softly, and used his newfound speed and agility to run and jump, gliding very quickly through the air towards the center of the abomination. Iapetus fired a barrage of lasers at Radolf, from the windows of the station, but he maneuvered past all of them with Booster's power. As he neared the glowing skull, although he suddenly felt quite sick to his stomach, he gripped his bible in one hand and his spear in the other, and slashed downwards with both into the fleshy chasm of the skull's membrane, screaming, "IT'S GOD'S WRATH!!". The skull was badly wounded, and began shaking and bucking to try to get Radolf off, but he kept slashing and slashing all the way down to the ground. Once he landed, he saw his populace running around in horror, some carrying wounded or deceased loved ones, but he couldn't think about that now. Radolf looked around quickly at the ground, and found what he sought: a river flowing from the church of Elemia.

As Radolf took off running for the holy water, Aurica decided to cast her most powerful holy spell, now that Radolf had given her the necessary harmonizing boost from his onslaught on the creature. Aurica sung [Red Magic Seraphiflyer, and let it loose. 28 Angels with 7 wings each descended from on high, and all drew back angelic laser-bows, all aimed at the Skull, and all began firing rapidly.

The entire station began to thrash from rage and pain. Jack finally blacked out, having lost far too much blood, and he collapsed on the ground in the port. Radolf meanwhile soaked his spear in the holy water of the church, and he took aim, and fired it straight up, through a hole ripped in the skull from the continued assault of Aurica's angels. The spear met its target, squarely through the chest, and the black skinned Reyvateil inside the skull cried out in an otherworldly song of despair, heard by all in Nemo. Instantly, the entire space station collapsed inwardly upon itself, and thereafter blew apart with a catyclismic black explosion into nothingness with a roar heard round Ar Tonelico. Radolf's spear landed next to him safely, with a resounding "_Zoing!_" Radolf and Aurica both breathed easy; they had won, but the city had been completely leveled by the battle.

Everyone was so busy celebrating that no one noticed a shadowy, nude and jet-black reyvateil fly off into the bright blue distance, obscured by the clouds

Author's Note: Hooray! I'd say this was easily the best chapter so far, please read and review!


	4. A Rude Awakening

Author's Note: Hola, everyone. Please R any feedback, positive or negative, would be extremely beneficial, as this is my first fic. (btw, have I mentioned that I don't own Ar Tonelico?)

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 3: A Rude Awakening

(_Platina_)

Lyner had just heaved his and Shurelia's dufflebags onto his broad shoulders with a vaguely annoyed huff. Shurelia had spent the entire night packing, no doubt to keep her mind on her new mission, and off the loss of a beloved friend. Lyner did what he could to comfort her, but mostly just lay in bed, biting his fist in irritation with himself. Like Shurelia, he never fell asleep, but he did so in an intense meditation of the extent of his feelings towards Shurelia. Could it be that he really was still in love with Aurica and Misha? Although marrying Shurelia had long been an idealistic fantasy of his, now that he had arrived at this opportunity, he just couldn't seem to cross that gap of thought and pop the question. Lyner decided to wait and see Aurica and Misha again, just to make sure he could be absolutely positive he wouldn't regret spending the rest of his life loving Shurelia. That was what she wanted, after all, and she had been far patient enough, with a coward like him. He didn't deserve her in the least…he at least owed her his vow of love, as what meager thanks it was.

These thoughts were still heavy on the handsome knight's mind when a conversation prompt appeared on his Telecom machine. The 'Urgent' indicator flashed red. "Uh-oh!" Lyner said, alerting Shurelia to its presence. It was the first time he had spoken in a while, and his voice sounded a little hoarse. "It's probably concerning Ayano, if we're lucky," Lyner said deeply. He stalked over and punched the Receive button.

Misha Arsellec Lune appeared on screen, her serene and adorable beauty emanating into Lyner's mansion, seeming to breathe warmth on the cold tension there. Upon seeing each other's face, the two people seemed to light up inside, and both had the effect of a puppet getting reanimated. "Misha!" Lyner exclaimed ecstatically, never realizing before how much he had missed her.

"Oh, Lyner!" Misha said, her green eyes glowing with warm adoration. "How are you? I've missed you so-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo…"

It was on the fifth syllable of "so" that Shurelia decided she could stand by no more. She jumped in Misha's view as well. "Hi, Misha," she said, her jealousy only vaguely disguised.

"…much," finished Misha. "Oh, hi Shurelia. You're there too," she stated flatly.

"I'm good!" Lyner said, smiling broadly, although that couldn't be said of him one minute ago. "You?"

Misha hesitated. "Not so good. Jack's hurt, and Krusche's…" she trailed off, unable to finish without showing some weakness.

Lyner and Shurelia's eyes widened in shock. "Oh no! What's happened?" Shurelia exclaimed, while Lyner said, "Where are you?"

Misha opted to answer Lyner. "Firefly Alley!" she said, still smiling from the joy of just looking at Lyner.

"No way!" Lyner said. "We were just about to leave for there!"

Misha cocked her head in confusion, her hair drums bouncing in response, making a cute tonk, tonk sound. "Really? Why are you coming?"

Lyner squinted with a smile, analyzing her. "Misha, have your drums gotten bigger?"

At this, Misha lit up with delight, and thrust out her chest a little more. "Hahaha, why thank you!" she laughed.

Lost, Lyner looked at Shurelia for a reason for this odd response, but as he turned his head, she smacked him across the face, hard, glaring at him. "Lyner!" she cried accusingly.

"Uh, um, sorry baby," Lyner said, nursing his cheek with his hand, although he hadn't the slightest idea what he was apologizing for.

Shurelia turned back to Misha, clearing her throat. "Have you not heard? President Ayano's been assassinated!"

Misha gasped. "Really?! How?!? We're at Tenba right now, because of their advanced healing technologies! They must be REALLY covering it up here."

"Is that so?" Shurelia stated, eyeing Misha as if she were the world's biggest idiot. "Because me and Lyner saw it on the news!"

"…Oh." Misha said. There was an awkward silence. "Aurica and Radolf are here too."

"Really?" Lyner said. "What from?"

Misha explained the entire battle with the black creature to the heroic couple, as well as the current emergency state of things in Nemo. "They've evacuated everyone out, just in case the city falls apart further!" she finished.

Shurelia gaped. "How awful! So what happened to Jack and Krusche?"

"Well, Jack had several spears embedded in him, but using a combination of the sophisticated machinery of Tenba, Radolf's holy blessings, and me and Aurica's song magic, he's managed to make a full recovery!" she said, looking visibly relieved to have said those words out loud.

"And Krusche?" Lyner pressed, wincing. He wasn't really sure he wanted to hear the answer.

Misha sighed and broke eye contact for the first time. "Well…from what we can tell, her brain has…disappeared," she said softly, flinching while she waited for the heroic couple's response.

"What?!?" the two perfectly-built heroes exclaimed, leaning forward as close as possible to the viewscreen, intent to learn more.

"Instead, her entire nervous system has been replaced by a black, pulsating organ of unknown shape or classification," Misha whispered, seeming to not even listen to the words she was saying, "Along with hundreds of tendrils running throughout the whole of her body." She looked back up, her eyes staring at Lyner's pleadingly. "We don't want to risk operating or singing to fix it; she's barely being held alive as is!"

"Don't worry, I understand," Lyner said, reassuringly.

"Are you still coming?" she whispered.

"Of course!" he murmured. "We'll come as fast as possible! Tell the others, we'll meet at Seagull Port!"

"Okay!" Misha said softly. Lyner reached to turn off his end, but hesitated until Shurelia turned away. Then, he looked back at her and winked secretively. This made Misha smile brilliantly once more, and winked back before turning off her console, rendering the screen black.

He turned and saw Shurelia standing stiffly, with her back to him. He looked down and checked out her butt, which was very alluring. He smirked, allowed himself to get a little turned on, and jumped forward onto her, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Shurelia laughed out loud, and turned around in his grip to face him. "Hey!" she said with a grin. "What's gotten into you?" Pools of tears stood shimmering beneath her eyes.

Lyner grinned back. "I'm just trying to get you to smile, Shurelia!"

She pressed up to him as close as possible, kissing his chest and resting her head against it. "I'm sorry I was so depressing last night. You must be pretty put off about that, huh?"

Lyner snorted unromantically. "'Put off?' There is NO way you could ever 'put me off,' Shurelia, I love you too much."

"There's no such thing as love THAT dedicated," she spoke into him, and he could feel the vibrations of her voice in his heart.

"Oh, but I beg to differ!" he exclaimed, pulling her face up to his and kissing her more passionately than ever before. She groaned with pleasure, and kissed back.

After he pulled away, he winked. "I'm just trying to enjoy our last few moments alone, is all!"

Shurelia laughed. "You've got a point there. If you did this when Aurica and Misha were there, things might get just a LITTLE awkward, haha."

Lyner reached further down her back than usual, and felt her a little bit in the tush. Shurelia's eyes flew wide open! "Oh wow! You really did keep your promise and think last night, didn't you?!"

"Oh yeah. I thought all night," he said with a savage grin.

"Well, did you come up with anything conclusive?"

"Eh…no, not especially."

Shurelia grinned and rolled her eyes. "I should have guessed."

"But I promise, I'll keep thinking it over, and I will tell you immediately once I come up with a definitive answer!"

Shurelia scoffed jokingly. "I just hope you can still have kids by then!" Her eyes narrowed concernedly. "Incidentally, how much longer do you have before you go sterile?"

Lyner shrugged with a goofy grin. "Like I would know!" Seeing as Shurelia didn't look quite as elated as before, he decided to give her a more concrete prize. "So, you spending the night with me tonight, then?"

This brought the smile back to her eyes. "Oh, most definitely, baby!" She smirked again. "But no contact, as usual?"

Lyner winked. "Maybe just a little! You see, such are the many benefits of me taking up thinking!"

Shurelia groaned. "Ugh…I still don't know whether to hug or punch you!" as she shoved him playfully. Lyner just laughed and picked up their stuff again, while they hurried out quickly onto Lyner's balcony. The ancient, baroque Platina Port was a good walk away from Lyner's mansion (which was connected to the Cathedral), so Shurelia summoned A.B.R. to give them a lift down, directly to their booked aircraft.

A.B.R. disappeared behind them as they boarded the _Lifequest_. As soon as Shurelia stepped inside, a small green dragon with a thick, long tail jumped upon her, licking her in the face. "WHA?!" she began, and then started laughing, proceeding to hold the dragon in place with her arms and massage it.

The captain (a handsome youth with spiky green-and-black hair) immediately bolted out of his chair and approached Shurelia and Lyner, apologizing profusely. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! He followed us back inside our ship during a run to the mountains of Inferia… I'll take it back now, if you'd like." Shurelia allowed the dragon to be transferred to the captain.

"What's his name?" Shurelia said, delight evident on her dark-skinned face.

"Uhm, h-he doesn't have one…" the captain said, looking around with an eyebrow raised. "You could name him if you like, Lady Shurelia."

Shurelia blushed, and then closed her eyes, cocking her head in thought. Lyner braced for the worst; he had heard Reyvateils utter some pretty horrible names in the past. Shurelia promptly decided, and dictated, "I think 'Yeeka' seems to fit him!" she said, clasping her hands with a smile.

"_Yeeka,_" Lyner echoed, rolling his eyes. He looked over and saw the captain make a similar face, but he quickly tried to hide it. Lyner grinned. "What'd you say your name was, Captain?"

"Oh, how rude of me!" Michaelis said. "My name is Captain Sullivan. It is a pleasure to have such distinguished guests on board." He bowed low. "So, unless you have further questions, we will depart now for Firefly Alley."

"Uh, Captain?" Shurelia said sweetly, raising her hand.

Michaelis turned around, and smiled again. "What can I do for you?"

"Could I have Yeeka back please? I want someone to play with on the flight; Lyner can get REALLY boring on trips!" she said, grinning coyly at her boyfriend. Lyner crossed his arms grumpily and sat down next to her. Michaelis handed Yeeka back to her, and Shurelia proceeded to indulge the dragon with much more physical affection than anyone had ever gotten from her. Lyner twiddled his thumbs.

"PLEASE tell me we're not going to keep it," he said, staring at the chrome-plated ceiling.

"Oh, why not?"Shurelia said, still cooing and cuddling with Yeeka.

"Because, uh, it would be utterly USELESS!" he said grumpily. "We're on a mission, remember?"

Shurelia grinned and winked at him. "You're just jealous. He'll probably get bigger someday; then you'll be happy we raised him."

Lyner punched the seat in frustration. "Um, NO-o, it won't. Your friend Tastiella had one just like it, remember? It stayed the same size for, what, 2000 years?!?"

"Oh, yeah!" Shurelia remembered, and then returned to showering Yeeka with kisses and baby talk.

"Women," Lyner muttered, and decided to amuse himself with daydreams of ripping the dragon a new one.

(_Firefly Alley_)

When Jack first awoke, he opened his eyes very slowly. As the world came into focus, he realized he was being attended to by the two women who harbored the finest tops he had ever SEEN. (and that's a lot of tops, folks) Aurica Nestmille and Misha Arsellec Lune both were deep in conversation, and therefore didn't notice Jack's coming to. Jack began to celebrate inside; how could he work this to his advantage?

Jack suddenly got an idea. "LOOK OUT!! IT'S AYATANE!!!" he roared, shredding his vocal cords in the process. Both girls jumped about four feet in the air, and their chests galloped accordingly. Jack seized his opportunity. He stared down the activity, soaking it all in and recording it in precise detail in his memory. His mouth hung open, and it was only when his mouth uttered a strange pleasure-induced sound which sounded like a cross between a Nyo? screaming, a chicken clucking, and Tastiella's bowel movements that the girls noticed him again. "Eh-heh-heh…" he said, wiping some of the drool off with his gloved hand, "…just playin' with ya."

"Jack!!" Aurica screamed in delight, and leaned down and hugged him to her chest. 'Dang! Lyner's got it MADE!' Jack thought. Aurica pulled back and smiled at him. "I was so worried about you!" she said, and Jack let himself hope that she meant that more than as 'just friends.'

When he didn't immediately respond, Misha must have figured out what he was thinking, for she smirked at him meaningfully. "Harm. So good of you to join us."

"Hey Misha, Aurica." Jack said, his grin still stretched widely across his face. He started to sit up, but then froze and looked at Misha. "Is it okay for me to get up?" She nodded, and he proceeded. "So you saved me and Krusche, huh?" he said. "I thought we were total goners!"

Aurica and Misha looked at each other knowingly. "You tell him," Misha told her. "I just explained the whole thing to Lyner."

Aurica nodded and related the entire battle and its aftermath to Jack. Jack's face turned white as she told him about Krusche. "Her brain…gone?"

"Yes," Aurica said. "I'm sorry, Jack!"

He cut her off, suddenly lurching off the bed. "Is Tenba going to try anything?" he demanded.

Misha paced forward and held him tightly by the arm. "No, Jack, it's too risky…" she said.

Jack looked in her nervous green eyes. "Then I know someone who will!" He threw her off and looked around the hospital room; a wave of intensity had encompassed his body, and he stalked over to a shelf and found his handily repaired arm cannon. Jack grinned and reattached it. Spinning around, he headed for the door. "Where is she being held?" he asked the two Reyvateils as they stood together to barricade the door.

"Jack!" Aurica cried. "Don't do anything to hurt her!"

Jack looked at her confusedly. "What are you talking about? I'm going to take her to Nervocelambra!"

"Huh?!" the girls asked in unison.

"Outta my way!" Jack cried, attempting to wedge through them. Radolf appeared behind them, however, and further obstructed Jack's path to freedom. Jack fell back in frustration. "Look, she had my baby, alright?" The trio's eyes widened – none of them knew he had had a kid. "I-I couldn't save my baby from that… that THING… but I can still save her, and she's just as important to me." He glared, and then bellowed, "So, outta my way!!!" and he made a run for it again.

Misha caught his organic arm and looked him straight in the eye. "Listen, Harm, you have to wait, just a little bit more. We HAVE to deliberate before rushing into things!"

"Ah, BS!!!" Jack screamed at her, insanity suddenly creeping into his eyes. "Who knows what that black thing is in her!! We HAVE to get it OUT of her!!!" He was roaring at the top of his lungs, and he wouldn't have been surprised if the whole floor had heard him. But he didn't care; why were his 'friends' being such punks?

Radolf suddenly spoke up. "Lyner just booked a meeting with the new president of Tenba." Jack took this in, and then thought in an attempt to calm this hot blood down. "We're all going to talk about what we know about all these disasters that have been going on," Radolf continued. "It would probably be beneficial for all of us to go." Seeing as Jack still looked unsure, he smiled and said, "Krusche's in good hands here, Jack."

Jack sneered at him. "Yeah, right, good hands, that's rich… THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS YA TOOL!!!"

"Harm," Misha said warningly. "For Krusche's sake, go to the conference."

Jack threw his hands up. "Like I even have a choice!" He walked back to his caught and threw himself on it. "Tch…what I need is a drink!"

Misha smirked, and brought forth two bottles of Jack's favorite sake from a pouch on her side. "Hahaha, I thought you would say that!"

(2 Hours Later)

Aurica had been waiting alone at Seagull Port for about 45 minutes, when Misha finally came up and joined her.

"Sorry I'm late!" the black-haired beauty said, catching her breath and holding a bucket filled with Kitty Candy. "I decided to pay Spica a visit!"

Aurica laughed out loud, her blonde hair blowing elegantly behind her from the wind. "Why are you apologizing? Just think of the fun I would have had if I was ALONE when Lyner got here."

Misha grinned. "Oh? Did I mention that Lyner said my breasts looked awesome when he called this morning?"

If Aurica's mouth could have hit the floor, it would have. "What, are you serious?!" she cried, suddenly feeling small and insignificant.

Misha winked. "Looks like you're a little bit behind, girl!" She walked a little closer to her friend. "But the way I see it, I think we've got the advantage here!"

Aurica stared in disbelief. "How?!? He's been with Shurelia for so long it's foolish to think he'd ever leave her!"

"Well, since he's only had Shurelia for company all this time, if we NOW both show off our assets, we'll just seem that much better!" she explained, posing in such ways that complemented her extraordinary figure.

"Ohh, I see!" Aurica said, her eyes narrowed mischievously. "Kind of like sake that's been stored in the cellar for generations, right?"

"Exactly!" Misha smiled. "So how long has it been since you've seen Lyner?"

"Seventeen years!"

"Me too!!" Misha said, with subdued excitement lining her voice.

Suddenly, something snapped in both girls, and they released their pent-up emotions and longing with a perfectly-harmonized scream of delight. They leapt into a tight embrace and jumped around in a circle, chanting, "He's coming back, he's coming back, he's coming back!"

After a good five minutes of this, the girls pulled away, the excitement evident in their sparkling eyes. "So what are you wearing to welcome him, anyway?" Aurica asked her friend.

"Well, since you asked…" Misha said, and then spun around once, clothing herself in the gorgeous silk China Dress. "I always got the feeling he really likes this one!" she said, her voice shrill from uncontained anticipation. "And you?"

Aurica blushed, and then spun on the spot as well, casting Lilim on herself. Aurica grinned and looked away, suddenly too bashful to face Misha. "I, uh- thought he might like a little, um…homecoming present…" In truth, Aurica just wanted to get a similar compliment to the one Misha got from Lyner that morning, so she chose the outfit with the most cleavage. Aurica closed her eyes and silently prayed, thanking the Trio of Elemia that Jack wasn't there.

(Onboard the _Lifequest_)

After Shurelia apparently climaxed with Yeeka and fell asleep with the young dragon in her arms, Lyner's mood brightened considerably. He got a call from his old friend Radolf Schneizen, who instructed Lyner to book a meeting with the new Tenba president. Lyner was glad to comply, of course; the new president (a plump, balding man by the name of Devon) seemed a little bit harried, but otherwise knowledgeable and pleasant. Devon had been more than happy to grant Lyner and his friends an audience, and afterwards there was little more for Lyner to do than fall asleep on Shurelia's shoulder.

Soon, however, the familiar drawling whirr of the gigantic fans of Seagull Port was enough to wake the heroic couple up. "Oh, we must be there," Shurelia said distantly.

Lyner stood up, and offered his hand to help her up, which she took. "Hey, Mr. Captain?" Shurelia called suddenly.

Michaelis emerged from the cockpit, grinning toothily. "Yes, what is it?"

"Could I keep this dragon?" Shurelia said, raising it up in front of her face, as if to indicate which dragon she was talking about.

"Sure!" Michaelis said. "We don't have any use for him back at Platina Port. I'm sure you'll take better care of him anyway."

"Aw, don't say that!" Shurelia said with a grin. "I'm sure you've been a perfectly fine trainer!"

"Yeah, well…" Michaelis said, and then shook his head, deciding not to continue with what he was saying. "I hope that both of you had a pleasant flight!"

"Yeah, of course!" Shurelia said. Michaelis whirled around and re-entered the cockpit to park the shuttle.

Wondering why Lyner hadn't said anything, she looked at him. He was staring out the window, looking a little apprehensive. Shurelia dropped Yeeka and walked over next to him, hugging him tightly. She could see Aurica and Misha both jumping up and down, clapping their hands excitedly, and cheering, from the looks of it. Shurelia smirked, glad that they were making her would-be husband uncomfortable.

"I'll just wait up here if you want, honey; you know, one less Reyvateil waiting on you," she began, but Lyner shook his head.

He stared at her warmly with his deep brown eyes, and wrapped his arms around her as well. "No. If you're not there with me, I don't know what'll happen. I really want to be with you forever, Shurelia; now, more than ever, it's really important for me to bring you with me!"

Shurelia nodded, glad that he chose to bring her with him. "Okay, let's do this then!" Whatever happened during the day, at least he was hers and hers alone tonight.

"Yeah," Lyner said, thrusting open the hatch and jumping out on the docking ramp. "Easy for you to say."

Meanwhile, Michaelis started to shake visibly. "_HE WAS RIGHT THERE!!_" he hissed to Blaire, who was sitting calmly in the co-pilot's chair. "And this STUPID plan forbids me to kill him!"

Blaire nodded. "For now, anyway. I'm sure our army will grant you your killing blow once the time comes. But as you know, we need him at the moment. And all seems to be going according to plan."

This, however, did not sate Michaelis's rapidly deteriorating state of mind. He pulled a shaking hand back to his back, where he pulled out his flogging whip. Blaire pursed her lips, well aware of what was coming. Michaelis roared, madness overcoming his normally handsome features, and flayed Blaire's face over and over again with the multiple hooks, glass shards, saws, and arrowheads of his sprawling whip. As long as he avoided her vocal cords, she could easily sing herself back into health after he ripped the rest of her into shreds. Blaire face stayed stony calm as her master peeled layer after layer off.

(_Outside_)

Apprehension seemed to bombard Lyner's mind as he and Shurelia walked down the gangplank, Yeeka hopping energetically behind them. Although he was excited to see his two former romantic interests, he didn't know if he could handle this potent of a dose of them at the same time. Therefore Lyner decided the best tactic to keep his face straight while approaching the two gorgeous Reyvateils was to think about something pleasant, like sparring with Radolf and Ayatane around the campfire like they used to do. This had the desired effect – a carefree, nostalgic look on his face while he looked at the two girls (although he wasn't really looking at them).

When he and Shurelia reached the bottom, however, Lyner realized that he could no longer space out, so he said, "Hey ladies! How are ya-" when he was suddenly pounced on by the girls. Aurica straddled his left side and exclaimed, "You've got a BEARD!" while Misha manically grabbed his hand and held it to her warm chest (which was only barely covered by the thin silk of her dress). Lyner had always had a problem thinking while the girls thrusted him in awkward sensual situations, and so he suddenly mentally shut down, unable to do more than stutter, (to his supreme embarrassment) "Wha? Luh? Aur –MI, Augh, Can't…" He hated his life.

Shurelia burst out laughing. Misha grinned and leaned forward so that as she spoke, her slim lips brushed against his cheek, "I haven't dived ONCE since you left! I'm so dying for some…"

Aurica laughed too. "Well, guess what? I've been dived into three times EVERY DAY for the last five years by suitors!" This caught Lyner's attention, and he gave her a questioning look. Aurica brought her face up right in front of his, so close that her lips squished against his. "It's the easiest way to get rid of them. They always leave immediately afterward! Every time, without exception, they always burst out of my cosmosphere and out of the pod, screaming about a crazed lion with a sword trying to murder them!" Lyner was forcibly (and a little fondly) reminded of the stuffed lion that had so often threatened to take Lyner down in the days when he used to dive in Aurica.

Misha looked at her, the rapture of groping Lyner momentarily taking control of her normally subdued features. "What, a lion with a sword? How does that even make sense?" she exclaimed, her voice wavering with excitement.

Aurica shrugged. "I dunno, but it works great to get those losers to leave me alone!" She looked at Lyner. "But I guess you got past him, huh?" Lyner nodded with a slight chuckle. Aurica pulled back some and stuck out her chest, with the hope that Lyner would notice it, but he didn't say anything, so she stuck her lip out, pouting a little.

"Um, I-" Lyner began, but then swallowed, praying that when his adam's apple resurfaced, it would return unadulterated usage of his voice to him.

It did.

"Look, ladies, it's really noisy here; why don't we go get a tram to Tenba?" he suggested. Fortunately, Aurica and Misha agreed, and they took both of his arms (Misha still held his right to her chest, while Aurica placed his left on the small of her back, with her hands clasped around it). Lyner looked back at his girlfriend, with an angry expression that clearly said 'Thanks for the help you splitter!' Shurelia just smiled back sweetly, massaging the dragon in her arms again.

On the tram, Radolf approached the foursome. "Whoa, Lyner, looks like you've done good for yourself!" he said with a smile.

Lyner threw on a goofy grin. "What's up, Radolf?"

"President Devon said he'd see us as soon as we're ready," Radolf reported.

"Great!" Lyner said. "Let's finally get us some answers!"

"I think I may be able to contribute a lot of those answers," Radolf said. Lyner grinned appreciatively. "I'll explain everything to you at the meeting."

"Alright. Shall we take a seat?" They separated into three groups, with Lyner readily reuniting with Shurelia. He smiled lovingly at her, and she snuggled up to him and kissed him. Aurica and Misha both glared daggers at her.

To change the subject, Aurica turned to Radolf. "Hey Radolf, I'm sorry for, er, threatening to kick you in the balls earlier," she said a little nervously.

"Aw, don't worry about it," Radolf said bracingly. "I was being way too stubborn, after all."

They looked around to see Lyner goggling at Aurica, clearly lost. "Wha-at??" Lyner said. "Radolf has balls? When did this happen?"

Author's Note: Sorry this post took a little longer than usual; I wanted to pack more content in this chapter. I hope you're enjoying it! More to come, with lots of answered questions in the next chapter, along with another familiar face…


	5. The Conference

Author's Note: Onwards, loyal followers, let us plunge deeper into the heart and histories of the tower Ar Tonelico itself. Also, now that you mention it, I have no ownership over Ar Tonelico.

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 4: The Conference

After Lyner's tram dove into the green chrome tunnels below the massive Tenba Headquarters fortress, the group of six (including the sleeping dragon Yeeka, whom Radolf was carrying) were escorted into a large, dark auditorium shaped entirely with black obsidian.

"Harm? Are you here?" Misha called out, the room mysteriously seeming to swallow her voice whole. The group saw a lazy hand gesture from the front row, indicating Jack's presence. They trotted down silently, taking a seat near Jack. Lyner sat between Shurelia and Radolf, which was just fine by him; he felt bad enough about his relative ignorance of Aurica and Misha's existence as it was, so it was better if he didn't feel their stares constantly boring into his avoidant face.

Shurelia sighed next to him, and Lyner felt that he could read her mind: she was feeling the same sorrow in the room that he could. He put his hand in her lap tenderly. Certain darkness seemed to be seeping on them from every corner of the room – although Lyner supposed that darkness could be due to Jack's downright murderous demeanor. Jack seemed to be broadcasting bad vibes to everyone there. Lyner guessed that he was mad about Krusche's current state of being, but he also thought that Jack should have been a little more grateful for his friends' efforts to save his life. Looking back though, Lyner remembered that more than once on his travels he had talked himself into thinking that his friends cared absolutely nothing for him and his mission, and used that as an excuse to often strike out and take risks on his own behalf. It wasn't until Misha cussed him out for it (Lyner still had a bit of leftover anger towards her from that incident) in the Crystal Eye that he finally started to allow the others to get close to him. Jack was probably going through a similar phase at the moment due to the shock of that black titan's appearance and the wreckage it caused to Nemo and Jack's personal life.

Within a few minutes President Devon strode out onto the stage and stood behind his large oak podium, smiling fakely, the light reflecting twistedly off his wax moustache. "Hello, most prestigious saviors and guardians of Ar Tonelico, it is a pleasure to have your distinguished presences here in our humble estate."

Lyner didn't think 'humble estate' exactly covered the hulking, intimidating nature of the turtle green HQ building, but he decided to overlook this slight grievance. Jack began to glare at Devon like he was contemplating marching up there and blasting his head off.

"I know that all of you were very close to President Ayano, and we share your sorrow for this dreadful occurance. We here on the advisory council of Tenba will try, with all our power, to carry out the dream she had for this company; HER company. Now, on to the first issue," Devon said, with an air of getting to the point. "We have not yet been able to uncover any conclusive evidence, whatsoever, on the murderer's identity."

"What? No camera footage?" Lyner blurted out.

"Er, no, whoever broke in was quite thorough in his methods; he, er, that is to say, um…took complete control of our defensive mainframe…" the president said with a fallen face.

"Is that even possible?" Shurelia demanded skeptically. Jack got up off his chair in fury.

"He's lying to us!" he accused of Devon, his arm gun trained on the fat man's pudgy face.

The president continued to stutter harriedly until Misha brought Jack back down to his seat with a touch on his thigh and a murmur. "Eh, well, you might go as far as too, ahem, suggest that, er, a, erm , a Reyvateil had something to do with it…" the now profusely sweating executive managed to spit out.

"NO Reyvateil is that powerful." Lyner said confidently. "Shurelia beat Mir, and both of them have long been considered the best Reyvateils out there." He looked at his girlfriend. "Right?"

Shurelia shrugged. "Well yeah but…a Reyvateil as powerful as me COULD do it, but only if they had a very particular situation while diving." She looked at the others. "And one that involves disarming and taking control of defense mainframes doesn't seem like one most Reyvateils would present in their Cosmospheres."

"Granted," Devon said, "but the murder of Ayano was unlike anything our specialists have ever seen done by a human or machine weapon; she very well appears to have exploded from the inside out."

"Good riddance," Jack chose this moment to speak up again, with a smirk. "She always showed way too much anyway. Women in their fifties do NOT need to be dressed like, like…" he cast around. "Aurica does," he said, gesturing to the girl two seats down from him.

"HEY!" she exclaimed.

"Just an example, yeesh," Jack said, inching towards Misha in his chair. "Besides, I sure ain't complaining!"

"So," Devon proceeded, not showing any indication that he had heard this interchange, "their only answer is that it was done by a Reyvateil. However, you'll be pleased to know that we do have one shred of evidence, meager though it is." The president snapped his fingers, and an attendant brought in a wheeled glass table with a white blanket concealing its contents. "Thank you Vincent," the president muttered as he snapped a pair of green plastic gloves on before he stooped down and produced a large, severed head. The Reyvateils all yelped and hid their faces, while Jack, Lyner, and Radolf stood up, trying to get a better look. "If you'll look with me, gentlemen," Devon said, tracing a pudgy finger around the serrated skin, "there is a distinct pattern of cuts on this bodyguard's remaining skin. Our lab analysts, of which Vincent is one (here, the blue-haired scientist accompanying Devon bowed and smiled), tell me that this is the handiwork of a bladed steel disk being slashed through the air."

Lyner looked at the other two guys, shaking his head, but they both shrugged. They knew of no one who regularly used a bladed weapon in combat.

"In other words, it was either just a Reyvateil using a cutting blade Song Magic, or else she had a cohort." Radolf said.

"Okay… well thanks anyway for the information," Lyner said, about to leave.

"Wait, Mr. Barsett, I assure you there is more," Vincent said silkily. For some reason the voice ran chills up the Knight of Elemia's spine. At any rate, he stopped walking, shrugged and sat back down.

"There better be more," Jack muttered, "or I just wasted about the biggest chunk of time EVER in my life."

"Fortunately, on the matter of what happened to Jack and Nemo, there is a plethora of information," the president said. His small audience became attentive once more. "When our scientists removed the dark spears embedded in Sir Jack's body, they naturally ran a diagnostic on the matter. Surprisingly, it is of the same consistency of Reyvateil flesh. The exact same compound makes up all Reyvateils' skin, you see, and these spears appear to be constructed of that."

"Okay – that's weird," Misha said.

"In addition to this odd discovery," the president continued, "when our scientists repaired Jack's deep-range seeking ship, they performed an analysis on the ladels of black slime that penetrated the ship during the monster's advance." Even Jack leaned forward intently at this time. "All testing on the orbs has, in fact, confirmed the presence of a previously hypothetical state of matter; Quiad orbs."

Shurelia balked. "WHAT?"

"Wait, I'm lost," Lyner said. "What's a Quiad orb? I've never heard of one."

Shurelia touched his warm arm in an effort to calm herself. "Quiad is the sixth state of matter; it is like a forbidden element. None has been seen since I was born! I have no experience with it."

Here, Vincent chose to speak up again. "I conducted additional tests to said slime. My refraction data shows that the frequency of light emitted from the ooze is, indeed, an exact match to the hypothetical frequency of the Quiad Orb of Darkness."

"If I may?" Radolf said, standing up, clutching a holy text. Vincent nodded, and stepped back into the shadows. Radolf strode forward and turned around to face his former comrades intently. "As Aurica could tell you, the Bible of Elemia contains a lengthy story commonly known as the Legend of the Quiad Reyvateils." Here he held up the page of the legend for his friends to see. Sprawled across the pages of the book was a black ink drawing of a space station with a skull in the middle.

"THAT'S IT!" Jack exclaimed, pointing excitedly. "Granted, a more squished-together, midget version, but…"

"The church generally dismisses this story as a parable on morals," Radolf continued. "But the legend reads that there are five Quiad Reyvateils, each representing one of the five necessary factors for true passion to arise. When all five of these huge fortresses unite, the Quiad Reyvateils believed that they would bond together to create a hedonistic goddess of passion of the purest essence, who would lead the world to self-deprecation and anarchy."

"I don't understand," Misha said softly. "Isn't passion a good thing?"

Radolf nodded, with a thin smile. "The church believes it is, but only when used in moderation. If everyone's life were to be dominated by passion alone, however, they would act only on their base instincts, which would lead to an increased number of murderers, sex offenders, and criminals in general."

"Get on with it, dude!" Jack said, uncorking another bottle of sake. "I don't need your preaching."

"Of course not, Jack, I would never presume to," Radolf said, with such a straight face that he could very well have been sarcastic or serious. "Now, the story goes that the other four could never find the Reyvateil of Life, Rhea, so they remained vulnerable, and could never use their tainted power to the fullest. In the end, they were defeated, so the legend goes."

"But it's just legend," Aurica said with a smirk, shaking her head. "There's never been any proof."

"Actually," Shurelia said, looking a little eager to spread her knowledge, "My inner databases have records of these Reyvateils…well I suppose they're what the records are referring to… anyway, these records, installed into me by my father, say that four monstrous castles combed the globe, destroying entire cities in search of something. These monsters were so destructive, the designers of Ar Tonelico sped up the process of building the tower so they could make a safe haven for the people of the ancient world. You see, Ar Tonelico continually emits a refractive shield, hundreds of miles thick, along the entire tower. Such a shield would almost certainly keep out a being composed entirely of song magic. One of the reasons Ar Tonelico was installed was to keep out these Quiad Reyvateils, and this is also certainly the reason the other three towers were never finished."

"Then…how did they reach Nemo?" Lyner wondered aloud.

"Me…" Jack said, staring at nothingness in front of him. "When Krusche and I go exploring for the towers, we naturally leave the shield – Iapetus must've latched onto us or something, used our ship as an entry point." He slowly raised his head and stared at Shurelia. "But I left on YOUR orders."

"I know, I know," Shurelia said, suddenly looking quite anxious. "I had no idea that, after all this time, these Reyvateils still existed. Remember, the world has been destroyed twice since the last sighting of one! I had no idea…I, I'm so sorry, Jack…" Shurelia said, holding Lyner for emotional support.

Jack seemed to accept this apology, because he went back to examining the very interesting nothingness in front of him. Radolf suddenly spoke up, still leaning against the stage. "But Aurica and I beat Iapetus! If we destroy the other three, then the outer world should be safe to explore again."

"Exactly," Devon said. "Tenba feels that you heroes are the only ones with the ability to eliminate these monsters, so we would like to plead with you to go and destroy all of the Quiad Reyvateils."

"No way!" Jack shouted, rising out of his seat again. "I'm taking Krusche to Nervocelambra, and that's final!"

"Jack," Devon said. "I know how you feel, but you are the only one with a deep-range ship capable of tracking down these-"

"Yeah? Well, make another one!" Jack roared. "Carbon-freeze Krusche, and hand her over to me, NOW!" he yelled, suddenly jumping up over Radolf, and onto the stage, pointing his gun at the president's face.

"Jack!" the entire party admonished him. Lyner was deep in thought. Surely, eliminating these monsters was important, as was saving Krusche, but what about the murderer of Ayano? He was still on the loose, and seemed a much more present danger to the people of Ar Tonelico than these Quiad Reyvateils the shield protected them from.

Lyner's attention was quickly redirected to the situation at hand as Jack cocked his gun. "Give the order. Now," the treasure hunter growled, his brow twitching.

"She might die if we try to freeze her," the president squeaked. "Try to remember, we are in a very precarious situation here."

"Yeah, you are!" Jack said with a half-smirk. "So how about it, or Tenba's second president's head goes tumbling across the floor."

"I think you mean, 'Blasted into a barrage of brains and blood that covers the entire stage,'" an alcohol-laced voice came from the balcony up above. Everyone looked up (including Jack) to see a red-armored Ayatane standing poised on the railing, looking even more angry than Jack. His katana were drawn, charged with cursed electricity, illuminating the entire balcony a bright blue color. He jumped off, flipped three times and landed right next to Jack and the president. "But I would be happy to provide that tumbling across the floor part, if you really wanted it," the samurai said, grinning.

"Ayatane!?" Shurelia cried. Lyner knew she had never really gotten over his abrupt betrayal; her and the virus had practically been an item at one point.

Ayatane pressed his katana to Devon's neck, the static dancing threateningly up the face of the president. "What in the BLOODY mother were you thinking?" Ayatane demanded.

"What happened?" Lyner asked sternly.

"They TOOK Mir!" Ayatane said. "While I was diving with her in Karakola Avenue, Tenba officers stormed the place, killed the dive operator, and apparently restrained and captured her."

"Wait, wait, hold up…" Jack said with a sudden grin, lowering his gun. "YOU were diving with Mir. As in, your mom?"

"My DELICIOUS mother, you mean," Ayatane corrected him, his eyes briefly glossing over, a tiny bit a drool threatening to smear his white lipstick. He shook it off and said, "She is my creator, but that doesn't mean we're genetically related. We've grown quite, quite close recently," he ended with a pleasant smile.

"Uh, right," Lyner said with a grin, getting up on stage next to the other three men, hoping to place himself in a position to protect the president if necessary. "Things must have been just a little awkward on Level Six, eh?"

"What happens on Level Six?" Misha asked, wide-eyed.

"I barely made it out alive," Ayatane whispered juicily to Lyner, lowering his katana. Lyner wrinkled his nose, smelling a hearty aroma of alcohol. "Mir had a chainsaw when I didn't succumb to her, and, well, it just got a little messy."

"Well, how do we know Mir didn't subconsciously contact Tenba to save her from her perverted son?" Shurelia pondered aloud.

Ayatane glared at her as evilly as he could muster, and then whirled back around to the president. "Well, do you know what happened to her? Speak up, man!"

The president spluttered. "I-I-I never gave such an order! Please believe me!"

Ayatane made a noise that sounded like a cat hissing and turned to Lyner. "You know what happened the last time humans treated her like a prisoner, or worse, a test subject. It took about two-hundred years to finally calm her down! We have to find her and heal her, quickly, for all our sakes!"

"But for yours and your posterity's especially, eh?" Jack said with a wink.

Ayatane blushed. "Heh, yeah, a little, I guess."

The President seemed relieved to have regained his chance at life, but his face fell when Jack again pointed his cannon at Devon's face. "I'll cut you a deal, and it's my ONLY offer. If we go fight your Quiad Reyvateils, you have to release Krusche to me so that I can get her to proper treatment. What do you say, punk?"

The president looked at Vincent, who was still hidden in the shadows, and Vincent nodded his agreement. The president exhaled slowly, and nodded curtly. "Alright, sounds fair."

"Good," Jack said, looking pleased for the first time since Lyner had seen him.

High up in the rafters, unbeknownst to Lyner and the others, Michaelis clung to the ceiling using spiked bracelets, analyzing the proceedings. At the president's decision, the black-garbed assassin's eyes widened, and he crawled feverishly into the nearby air ducts.

Lyner felt someone tap him on the shoulder from behind, and he turned to see Aurica. Surprised, he said, "Uh…something I can help you with, Aurica?"

She nodded, blushing scarlet. "Yeah, um, could I…kiss you?" she raised her eyes to meet his, which were wide open with shock. (as were everyone else's besides Yeeka)

"Well…" Lyner said, bashfully tossing his hair, "I don't really think this is the best time…"

"Lyner," she said, looking at him with hundreds of feelings swimming in her wide turquoise eyes. "I thought you would kiss me before, when we spent time alone together during the Mir war…but you didn't… and so I've been waiting for fifteen years, just imagining what the kiss that never was, never could be, would be like… but now we can do it!" she said, suddenly smiling, looking a lot like a schoolgirl asking a guy to the Sadie Hawkins. "And I never thought we'd have this chance… so, kiss me! Please?"

"Well, how can I resist if you say it like that?" Lyner asked her as if there were never any debate in his mind about the kiss. With that, the two simultaneously swooped together, catching each other's mouth as Aurica wrapped her arms around Lyner.

Aurica's body seemed to be radiating heat like a sauna. He could feel her hyperstimulated heartbeat resonate throughout his being at a steadily increasing rate. Her lips were loving, telling, and perfect. They felt to Lyner as though they should have always been there, embracing his own lips passionately over and over again. As he thought about her figure while she pressed up as close as possible to him, he realized that she was a lot hotter than Shurelia (although he felt extremely guilty to realize this).

Such was his guilt that he abruptly stopped, smiled at Aurica a little too quickly and turned away towards the president. He shouldn't have kissed her; what was wrong with him?? He had been as good as married to Shurelia before, but how would she react to this? Lyner couldn't bring himself to look at Shurelia at all.

But- the kiss had awakened in Lyner something that he had thought long gone; once more, the thought of Aurica seemed to unlock in him every pleasant thought and dream, both planned and unrealized. It was worth it, Lyner decided, regardless of whatever the cost would turn out to be.

"Thanks Aurica," he said, turning back to her and hugging her tightly. "THAT was awesome." Aurica smiled, a single tear dripping down her face from her delight.

"O-o-o-o-o-o-kay," Ayatane said, speaking on behalf of the large amount of awkwardness that had descended upon the room. "Should we, er, take a break then?"

"That sounds like a marvelous idea," Devon said, still sweating more than humanly possible. "We shall reconvene in twenty minutes. And, Ayatane, wasn't it?" he asked of the lilac-haired warrior. Ayatane cocked his eyebrow at him. "I will use this time to check all records of Tenba activity. If any forces have been used for such an operation as you suggest occurred, I will look into it and trace their whereabouts. But I assure you, no such order was ever given by me!"

Ayatane looked rather taken aback at this. "Th-thanks, President Devon."

Devon smiled, and walked out of the room with Vincent, their hard heels hitting the floor being the only sound in the room.

Author's Note: Hey, hope this chapter wasn't too boring! Don't worry, only one more chapter of exposition before we get to the real meat of the story! I've never written anything before, so I'll listen to whatever feedback you have to offer! (AND implement it!)


	6. Plans

Author's Note: The usual; I don't own anything, and please review. Sorry I took a while this time. In the future, however, I can guarantee that I'll have a new chapter out every Monday. (With school starting up again and all, I won't have much time to dedicate to my favorite pastime anymore) My sister says some of the characters are OOC in this chapter (namely Lyner), and that could very well be, since Lyner isn't very deep in the game. Therefore, I probably altered his subconscious a little more than I meant to. Whatever, if you notice anything, do not hesitate to point it out to me, and I'm certainly open to going back and changing it:D So, without further boringness, here's "Plans."

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 5: Plans

'Ugh, a recess,' Lyner thought. 'Just what I need right now.' Due to some base impulse Lyner never knew he had, he had cheated on his beloved girlfriend, Shurelia. In full view of her, even. Lyner would have liked to return to business to lessen some of the awkwardness of the situation. Or else go roll up and die somewhere far away, like the Dragon's Nest. However, he believed that, no matter how daunting the task, you should always force yourself to go on (as opposed to running in cowardice).

"Well!" Lyner said, smiling suddenly and rubbing his hands together. "Let's go eat some chow!" The lightheartedness of this remark seemed to lift the mood of the room a little, and so Lyner jumped down off of the stage and marched to the exit of the dark auditorium. As he walked, he ventured a look at Misha. The Reyvateil was giving him a knowing smile, for some reason that Lyner didn't understand. He had assumed she would be angry with him, since he had kissed Aurica before her. Encouraged by this, he grinned back at her, winking like he did on the viewscreen back at his mansion earlier that morning. After she returned his wink, he then risked a look at Shurelia. The girl's mouth was hanging open in outright shock, and Lyner knew she felt completely betrayed by him. She made to start walking alongside him, but Lyner increased his pace, relieved when Jack sidled up next to him.

"Dude!" Jack said with a grin, patting his friend hard on the back. "So was that the first time you kissed her?"

Lyner laughed softly. "Yeah, it was. I feel terrible for doing it, though."

"What? Why?!?" Jack exclaimed. "She's been dreaming of that moment ever since the day she first showed me and you to that hotel in Nemo."

Lyner's eyes widened. "Are you serious?! How could you possibly…"

"Well, after Bourd took you captive, I mentioned your feelings towards Aurica to her. She got really embarrassed, and admitted that she had been hoping you would ask her to stay at the hotel with you!"

"JACK!!!" Aurica exclaimed, suddenly appearing beside him, her face flushed bright red. She smacked him hard on the face. "That was DEFINITELY crossing the line!" Lyner just laughed, shaking his head. At least Jack was still getting the abuse he deserved for his lifelong 'love 'em and leave 'em' policy. Aurica mentioned to Lyner, grinning abashedly, "Don't listen to him Lyner, I never said that!"

"Okay, okay, if you say so," he said, suddenly blushing and breaking eye contact. "I do feel bad though, I never should have done that!"

"Well, I-I'm happy you did!" Aurica said, her heart suddenly fluttering madly.

The group walked out into the hallway, which was a huge contrast to the depressing room they were just in. The walls were crafted from the finest silver, and giant gold chandeliers lit the entire floor. "Wow," Lyner whispered, stopping in front of the door to admire the beautiful architecture. Then, realizing he was blocking his friends from leaving the auditorium, he leapt out of the way, accidentally knocking over a small white table he hadn't seen. Shurelia laughed at him, hard, and lent him a hand to help him up. "Thanks, love," Lyner said, a little shocked. He pulled her into a hug.

"Ahem," a fruity voice said. The heroes looked to their left and saw, among the hundreds of white tables in the hallway, an entourage of waiters, with multiple dishes in front of them. "Meester Pwesident would like to gwant YOU and your SEXY fwiends a leetle treat," the mustached waiter said, grinning broadly.

"Oh, awesome!!" Lyner exclaimed, dropping Shurelia and rushing off to the food with Jack, Misha, and Aurica.

Ayatane walked over and gently helped Shurelia up, but she threw off his soft hold, yelling, "Get offa me!"

"My, my, aren't we the feisty one," the samurai said with a wry smirk. He looked over at their friends, who were joyfully ladeling food on their plates (Lyner had opted to bypass the plate option, and had begun to eat directly from the large vats of fine food) "So…how did we end up with such simpletons for allies in the first place?" he wondered.

Shurelia glared at him. "They aren't simpletons, they're just true to their hearts. The only people you can trust in this world are those who don't put on a disguise, but just act on their impulses and beliefs." She nodded to her messily-eating boyfriend. "That's why I love him." Looking at Ayatane again, she said, "I learned that lesson from you, the hard way."

"Tsk, tsk…whatever happened to forgive and forget, hm?" Ayatane said, shaking his head, his white locks tossing elegantly.

"Hey!" Radolf said suddenly from behind them. "Yeeka just pooped on me!" Sure enough, green sludge had erupted all over his brilliant white armor. He handed the dragon to Shurelia. "Here, I'll be right back!" the Archbishop said, running off to find a washroom.

"Ohh, I-I'm sorry!" Shurelia called after him, and then admonished Yeeka with a rap on the snout. "Ayatane," she said, "If you want me to trust you again, your first task is to look after Yeeka for just a second, okay?"

Ayatane bowed deeply. "It would be a distinct pleasure, my lady."

Shurelia hesitated, and then handed Yeeka off to him, striding down the hall towards her boyfriend.

"Oh man, this stuff is RIGHTeous!" Jack exclaimed to his buddies.

Lyner groaned in pleasure between gulps, while Aurica and Misha giggled, daintily eating escargot with forks and sipping bright blue Tropic Ice. "OH yeah," he replied.

Shurelia suddenly grabbed Lyner by the wrist and pulled him away from the buffet. "Okay, we need to talk!" she said sternly.

"About what?" Lyner said innocently, wiping off his filthy face with his gloved hand.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK!?" Shurelia roared suddenly, causing Jack and Aurica to jump in surprise.

"Ohhhh, right." Lyner remembered his offense. "Listen-"

"No, YOU listen!" Shurelia cried. "What happened to what you said this morning about you needing me? What happened to you being there for me? You never actually loved me, did you? WHY did you kiss that TRAMP?! You're just like Jack!" Each sentence caused Lyner to flinch as if he was being physically abused.

"Uhh…" he said, feeling lower than he ever had before.

"No, I take that back, you're worse, because you're an idiot!" she continued to rant, clearly a little off her rocker at the moment.

Misha poured another glass of Tropic Ice for Aurica, and handed it to her. " Well, I have to hand it to you, Aurica – what you did back there took guts."

Aurica blushed, "Thanks, but now I feel horrible!"

"This isn't your fault!" Misha said, gesturing at the pair in front of them. "Shurelia's completely out of line right now. You should go help him!"

"Hmm, I would, but wouldn't that leave him wide open for you?" she said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Misha laughed. "Listen, as long as Shurelia and Lyner are still an item, we're both at a disadvantage."

"More like YOU'RE at a disadvantage, Misha," Aurica said, rolling her eyes. "You're the only one who hasn't made out with him!"

Misha blushed, but otherwise was unfazed, "Aurica, Lyner still has an obligation to Shurelia while they're dating; if we both gang up on her, though, we might be able to get them to break up!"

"Heheh, you said 'gang up'," Jack pointed out between sips of booze.

Aurica thought about it and said, "So, while they're still together, we're like a team?"

"Yeah, and then after they break up, we can get at each other's throats again!" Misha said, smiling pleasantly.

"Alright, sounds fun," Aurica said with a giggle. "It's always been us versus Shurelia, if you think about it."

"Ever since she started traveling with us, that is," Misha said, crinkling her nose at the memory.

"Well, duh!" Aurica paused. "So I should go distract Shurelia then?"

"Well, that would be nice!"

"Alright." Aurica whirled around and walked over to Shurelia, who was still yelling at her boyfriend. Misha breathed in relief, and then pondered what costume Lyner would like the best. He had complimented her chest earlier, but he didn't seem to be too taken when he made contact with her China Dress earlier. Her best attributes were…what? She was brave, spunky, and intense (at least, she thought). Now, which costume would complement those traits? She decided on Sailor Girl, and whirled around on the spot to put it on.

"What do you think, Harm?" she asked Jack.

"It's GREAT!!" he exclaimed. "You'll get him in the end, of course."

"Thanks!" Misha said, blushing.

"Good luck, anyways – I'm going to go check on Krusche," he said, his face whitening slightly as he spun on the spot, walking down the brightly-lit hallway.

Misha smiled; she couldn't ask for a better friend than Jack.

Meanwhile, Lyner tried to come up with an excuse to get his girlfriend off his back. "Shurelia, I swear I didn't mean anything by that kiss!"

"Yeah, that's sure what it looked like!" the blue haired beauty said, looking especially ravishing now that she was furious.

"No, I mean it," Lyner said seriously, sweating profusely. "I was just humoring her. You ARE the only one for me, baby, I promise."

Shurelia's chest continued to heave in anger, and then she suddenly broke down in tears and hugged him. "I'm s-sorry, Lyner. I love you so much!"

A very confused Lyner held her to him firmly, not exactly knowing what do with her. As soon as she pulled away, however, Aurica suddenly came up behind her and grabbed her by the ear. Shurelia screamed and struggled, "Wha- what are you - get off me – stop!!!"

"I think you need to take JUST a little break, Lady Shurelia," Aurica said with a smirk and raised eyebrows. She momentarily looked back at Lyner and smiled, but then quickly returned her attention to the struggling noble she had just taken hostage.

Lyner then felt another hand on his shoulder, and he spun around to see Misha, dressed in Sailor Girl. "Wow Misha, you look cute!" he exclaimed before he could stop himself.

The raven-haired Reyvateil smiled daintily and put her hands in his. She tried not to show it, but she had a large fear of denial from Lyner. "Would you like to talk, Lyner? It's been so long!"

"Well, sure!" he said with a shrug.

"Okay, let's find somewhere private then!" she looked around, and decided on the white table next to them. She stooped down, and pulled up the white curtain. "Let's go in here!" she suggested mischievously.

Lyner looked around hesitantly. Ayatane and Radolf had finally decided to check out the buffet, and Shurelia's back was to him. He decided it was safe, so he squatted and crawled in with her. It was really crowded inside, and Misha was waiting for him cross-legged on the floor. As soon as Lyner got inside, she pulled him gently down to her and crawled up slowly onto his lap, her green eyes looking lustfully into his all the while.

"Private enough for you?" Lyner asked coolly. Misha laughed shortly and looked down at his chest. He grit his teeth; whenever any women other than Shurelia flirted with him, he started to mentally lock up. "So… why didn't you ever visit me in Platina? I assume you went through there often with your Song Princess work?" he asked her.

"Oh, I…I didn't want to be a bother. I knew you were happy, and so I decided to let you be."

"But were you happy?" Lyner asked, unable to help himself.

She shook her head and looked back at him. "No," she whispered. "I could never be happy if you weren't there to experience it with me…maybe that's why no one ever liked my songwriting – I was empty on the inside, so I couldn't spread happiness very well I suppose…are you even listening to me?"

"Uh…I can't really, when you're on top of me like this," Lyner said quietly. "Would you mind?"

"Oh, right," Misha said a little dejectedly, and she slowly lowered herself back down onto the tiled floor. A few tears began to fall down Misha's face, and she began to talk. "I need to tell you something – when Leard first forced me to sing [Chronicle Key when I was a kid, the only thing that kept me going was the memory of you and your love. I incorporated everything I felt for you into my song. Then, when I worked at Tenba, I didn't have to sing anymore, so I just freely fantasized about you all the time! Although I was trapped in hell, working for the devil, I stayed alive and happy just because of the fantasy paradise I had created in my mind about me and you. Then, of course, you came back into my life. And, although I loved you and had obsessed over you for the last three years, my love for you continued to grow the more I got to know you again. Haha, even though you had no idea who I was! I just KNEW we would end up together. But then, when we finally beat Mir, you suddenly were seduced by Shurelia, and have lived with her ever since. At the time I just couldn't understand why you would choose her over me! After all, you had known me first!"

"Yep, I know, Misha," he said, biting his lip. "But isn't it my choice? You and Aurica keep seeming to forget that." Misha's eyes widened, so she must have been hurt by this a little. Lyner wanted to say something to comfort her, but he had always been bad at such things. He had terrible timing, too. Instead, he decided to change the subject. "So…what do you think we should do about the Quiad Reyvateils?" he asked, looking up at her curiously.

Misha shrugged. "I'll just go along with whatever you decide; but I do think that there has to be some connection with all these bad things that keep happening to Ar Tonelico. Going to Nervocelambra with Jack sounds like a good place to start looking for answers, and hopefully some good news too!" She ran a hand through her silky black hair. "I'm a little nervous though; I've never been outside of Ar Tonelico before!"

"Yeah, I wonder what it's like there?" Lyner wondered, leaning back slightly against a table leg.

"I never realized Jack had found so many islands outside of the shield!" she said, with a touch of curiosity in her voice.

"You probably wouldn't have heard about it, the Complete Cartography Project is about as classified as you can get."

"I know!" she said annoyedly. Her face fell, and she spoke softly to the floor. "I'm sorry I never saw you all these years, Lyner…I guess I was just too sad, angry, and disillusioned to do any different." She looked up with a desperate sincerity in her eyes. "But then I remembered your feelings. From the very beginning of our quest, you've always said your only goal in life was to please Shurelia. I had never really, REALLY, thought about what that meant. You were in love with both me and Shurelia equally, with half a lifetime of memories for each of us. I'm sorry I blamed you for choosing her. It must be really hard to feel so much for two different people, huh?" she said, all the while drawing closer to him again.

Lyner smiled. 'She certainly is bold, if not a little brash,' he thought, 'kinda like me.' He hesitated, and then reached out and took her hand. "Misha, I really did love you back then. But, as for now, it's just a completely different world; I mean, sixteen years have passed!" He drew a little closer to her face. "I don't love you or Aurica anymore, and I'm truly sorry about that." Her breath seemed to catch in her throat, and she looked supremely crestfallen. "But, I'm willing to give you another chance, and I mean that! Look around, though, there's much more important stuff going on right in front of us than if I love you or not! Just – give us some time, and we'll see what happens."

Suddenly a loud moo erupted from outside the table, and Yeeka dove in, knocking over their hideout and forcing the two apart. Lyner glared at the dragon murderously, and Misha hastily straightened out her skirt and stood up with wide eyes. Lyner then noticed that all of his friends were staring at them (including Yeeka), and he jumped up, too.

Shurelia once again looked like she was about to die from heartbreak, while Aurica grinned and winked at the two of them. Ayatane and Radolf seemed to disapprove of their having been under the table together, but only slightly.

"Um," Lyner said, and then looked at the floor. "I found my bottle of sake!" he exclaimed with mock joy, and jumped down and retrieved one of Jack's half-consumed bottles from under the collapsed table he and Misha had been conversing under. He then popped out the cork, and downed it, nearly gagging five times. He hated sake almost as much as he hated viruses.

Misha looked a bit at a loss of what to do, when Jack suddenly wheeled Krusche up to the scene in a huge glass cryogenics capsule. "Hey, great news, everyone! Devon was true to his word! He went ahead and froze her, and her status is currently stable. The doctors acted very nervous though; I wonder why?" he announced to everyone. Then he looked around, feeling the somber mood. "Uhhhh, did someone die?"

A loud beeping then intervened, coming from Misha. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "The mayor!" She flipped a switch on a gadget on her arm, and a holographic viewscreen popped up over her arm.

"Misha," he said in a phlegm-filled voice. "I heard you were in town."

"Mayor Rashi!" she exclaimed. "You look terrible! Do you need me to come heal you again?"

He nodded. "I- I also heard that Lyner Barsett was with you." This mention of his name perked Lyner's ears up. "I've always wanted to meet him, since he's saved Firefly Alley so many times. Could you- could you bring him with you? I want to meet him before I die…"

"Oh, don't say that, Mayor! You have many years ahead of you, as long as I keep singing to you." Misha said, although she looked entirely unconvinced.

The Mayor laughed weakly, and shook his head. "No; the illness has taken my entire body now. There's nothing any Reyvateils can do for me."

"Oh, I doubt that!" Jack said with a grin. "There's LOTS of nice things Reyvateils can do for you."

Fortunately, the mayor didn't appear to hear Jack. "So will you bring him?"

"Yes," she said with a loving smile.

"Alright, I'll send a ship to your location, then. Mayor Rashi out." He said emptily, and the screen disappeared back into Misha's arm.

"You're going, I assume?" Shurelia asked Lyner, who nodded, looking at her intently.

"I don't see why not," he said, "if his dying wish is to see me, and I'm right here, then it's the least I can do to pay him a visit."

"But, what do you want to do about the Quiad Reyvateils?" Radolf asked.

Lyner thought for a split-second, and then said, "Let's take 'em out. We'll start out by going to Nervocelambra with Jack, and see if we can find any clues there. Besides, as the heroes of this world, it is our duty to either defeat them or help them find peace somehow, just so more needless destruction like what happened in Nemo can be prevented. Also, as Misha said," he continued, nodding to her, "there is probably some connection, however remote, between Ayano's assassination and the coincidental attack of, what, Iapetus, was it called? And I intend to find out what it is." He turned to Jack. "So are you going to join us on the hunt?"

Jack shrugged loosely with a smirk. "I might as well. The way I see it, I've got a score to settle with these Quiad bastards."

"Awesome," Lyner said, grinning.

"I'm coming as well," Ayatane said intently. "I have a feeling that Tenba is hiding something about Mir; perhaps coming on their quest that they're force-feeding us will land me closer to the truth."

"Okay, then, it's all settled." Lyner turned to Misha. "So how do we get there?"

She smiled beautifully at him. "Watch this!" She sang [Red Magic Flower and hurled the resulting oak tree at the end of the hallway. Everyone stared wide-eyed at Misha.

"Wh-what was that for?" Lyner said, and in answer, Misha ran up, grabbed him by the wrist, and began to dash down the hallway with Lyner dragging behind her.

"Bye everybody!!" She exclaimed, and she suddenly stopped at the edge and pushed Lyner roughly off the edge of the hallway into the skies of Firefly Alley. She jumped off behind him, vaguely hearing Aurica yell "Bye!" after them.

"Oh my goddess, we're all gonna die!!" Lyner exclaimed in terror.

"No we're not, look under us!" Misha said calmly, her skirt flying up around her to reveal her white thong. Lyner looked away in embarrassment.

"Wh-where do you THINK I'm looking?" Lyner asked, blushing profusely. As he looked down, however, he realized what she was referring to; a violet airship sped around the corner of the giant green fortress next to them and had come to a standstill directly under them. The canopy opened up just in time for them to collapse together on the carpeted floor.

"Nice catch, as always, Bruce," Misha said to the pilot, quickly rearranging her garments and smiling at him.

"Anything for you, Misha!" the guy said, and then explained to Lyner, "Her song influenced my girlfriend to fall in love with me. I'd give her the whole world in thanks if I could!"

Misha smiled a little bashfully, and looked furtively at Lyner, who had also re-situated himself and sat down on the leather seat next to Misha. "I thought you said people didn't like your songs?" he asked her.

"Well…there were a few exceptions, such as Bruce here and the mayor; that's how I came to be in his service. He was walking through Song Stone Park on his morning walk one day when he heard one of my concerts. He quickly hired me into his staff as his caretaker, and in return, he's made sure I'm quite well off." She hesitated, and then winked at Lyner. "Probably even more so than Shurelia, I suspect!"

Lyner laughed shortly. "I doubt it. Where's your manor?"

"Em Pheyna, where else?"

"I see," Lyner said. An awkward silence enveloped the ship momentarily. "Um, well that fall was…unexpected."

"I'll always look out for you, Lyner, you'll never have to worry when I'm with you."

He closed his eyes and stretched. His nerves were still hyperactive from the dive. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to say to you?" he asked, opening one eye to analyze her.

"Hm, I thought it was always supposed to be mutual," she said, folding her hands under her chin and checking him out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lyner replied. The uncomfortable silence returned. Lyner noticed that Misha seemed a little colder towards him since their private conversation earlier. After thinking things through a little, he leaned towards her and asked, "So, shall we make this a date?"

"What, are you serious?" Misha said, completely taken aback.

"Well, I meant what I said about giving you a chance," he said with a smile. "Besides, this may be one of the last opportunities we get!"

"No, that's not what I meant," Misha countered, grinning disbelievingly. "We're making a bedside run to a dying ruler. Like, the type of thing bishops do. And we're making a date out of it?"

Lyner thought briefly, and then answered, "Um, I'm still not seeing any problem with it."

"Oh Lyner, I missed you so much!" Misha exclaimed suddenly. "Alright, let's go on a date to see the dead guy then!"

"Dying," Lyner corrected with a grin.

"Yep," Misha said. "Um…well, if we're going to make a proper date out of it, shouldn't we probably kiss?"

"Now Misha," Lyner chided her jokingly, "What would that say about our future if we kissed on the first date?"

Misha started at this. "And what does that say about you, kissing Aurica when you were in the middle of a BUSINESS meeting?!"

"AHA!" Lyner exclaimed with a grin. "I knew it! You're jealous, aren't you? So no, I think I'll wait for you to get over your rampant jealousy before I go make out with you!" he turned away, still smiling broadly.

"Oh, you think I'm jealous, do you?" Misha yelled. "Wait till we see who's jealous, me or Aurica, once I'm done with you!" And with that, she leapt out of her seat onto Lyner, smothering him with kisses and heartfelt strokes. Lyner curled up in a ball, and kept saying, "Nope, nope, I'm not kissing you! You're…._jealous, jealous, jealous_!" To this, Misha humphed, and proceeded to unfurl Lyner until she was properly on top of him, face to face. She took one look at his tear-stained, smiling face, and proceeded to land a very passionate kiss in his mouth. As she did so, she slyly pressed the rest herself up to him as well. Despite his better insticts, Lyner proceeded to kiss her back, and held her head gingerly up to his. Unlike Aurica, who's body was boiling hot with passion, Misha was only warm, with controlled intensity. Everything about her was very firm and he decided that she, like Aurica, was quite better shaped than his current girlfriend. Misha had the kind of kissing form and technique that made him never want to let her go. After about two minutes of intense communication with their tongues, they finally parted, and she hugged him tightly, sending his face into the depths of her cotton shirt. "Oh, Lyner!" she breathed. "I've been waiting SO, so long to kiss you again!"

"Um, again?" he asked aloud, although he wasn't sure she heard him, what with the two massive sound buffers on either side of his face. Thankfully, she pulled him out of that awkward placement soon (his hands had started to shake in discomfort), and she gawked at him. "Thanks Lyner!" She must have thought he said something else (what this was exactly, Lyner had no idea) "I'm, uh, sorry I forced you into that. It won't happen again, I promise."

Lyner helped her slender body off him, despite his more base callings. "Yeah, I think that would be for the better," he said lowly, wiping some of her lipstick off with his gloved his hand. "That was, um, pretty enjoyable, though," he allowed himself to admit.

"Oh yeah?" Misha said, blushing but smiling sweetly. "Better or worse than Shurelia?"

"Mr. Barsett, Misha, I hate to interrupt," Bruce said, but we are now preparing to dock with Mayor Rashi's barge."

"What, barge? Like a boat?" Lyner asked, incredulously.

"Um, no," Misha said, trying to hide her smile. She offered her hand to help him up, which he gladly took; he was still mentally exhausted from trying to grasp the idea that he had just made out with two perfect girls besides his own. After they got up, Misha sucked on her index finger (apparently in thought), and she whirled around on the spot, donning her standard attire once again. "I think it would be best if was dressed properly for this."

"Nah, just wear Y like you normally do!" Bruce said, something like drool suggesting itself at the corner of his mouth at the apparent memory.

Lyner gaped while Misha turned a deep shade of prune. "I, er, yeah…but this is…a special occasion…" she said, her voice trailing off.

Lyner shook his head and then grinned, beckoning her to come with him inside.


	7. One Last Look At The Singing Tower

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 6: One Last Look At The Singing Tower

After Misha and Lyner's strange departure, Devon suddenly reappeared at the auditorium chamber's entrance. "Well, we're ready for all you again!" he said genially. This time, Aurica noticed he had brought two pike-armed bodyguards along, presumably in case another threat on his life occurred. Aurica smiled; she was happy to be back with her old companions, as eccentric as they all were. As they all began to feed through the multiple tables back to the auditorium, Aurica suddenly realized that the tables around them seemed awfully familiar to her. Although she couldn't put her finger on the source of this feeling, her throat seemed to swell up, and she began to sweat. As soon as she remembered her odd dream the day before, a bright light suddenly erupted in front of her face. In a microsecond, the bizarre dream came back to her… these tables surrounding her were exactly identical to the ones on the yacht where she and Lyner were on their date in the dream. Just as she was trying to come to terms with this odd coincidence, the bright light suddenly faded, and she was in a fluorescent blue room, at the base of an exquisite crystal staircase that led up to a fantastic golden throne. At her arrival, the occupant of the throne rose with a queen's grace and began to descend the stairs, smiling serenely at her guest. This woman, who indeed appeared to be royalty of some sort, had pineapple-yellow hair piled very high above her head.

"Welcome, Aurica," the queen said.

"Um, hi…" the Trinity Divinator said in return, a little warily. "I-I'm sorry for barging in like this."

"Oh, no no no! I had hoped you would come here as soon as possible."

Aurica cocked an eyebrow. "And here is where, exactly?"

With a lavish wave of her hand, the queen revealed that they were at the base of a gigantic ruby castle, with three high towers ominously peering down at her.

"THIS world doesn't exist," the queen said. "At least, not in any way you could grasp. You see, this entire world exists on a plane formed entirely of a certain kind of song magic. YOUR song magic." Aurica's eyes widened at this. "You shouldn't look so surprised, all this came from your imagination, after all."

"What, really?" Aurica croaked, incredulous. "And the dream, did I imagine that too?" The queen nodded. "But…why would I imagine killing a demonic version of Lyner? Does that world exist somewhere as well?"

"As to your first question, I have no idea what caused that vision; it has not yet been revealed to me, so your guess is as good as mine, esteemed Lady Aurica. Concerning the second, I'd say that it definitely does exist."

"And is that on this…um, 'plane' as well?"

The queen smiled. "Yes."

"Okay…" Aurica shifted her feet around nervously. "I like this part of it better."

"Hahaha, I'm glad," the golden-haired ruler said. She was strikingly beautiful, in such a way that Aurica figured that Jack's sex drive would probably explode if he ever saw her.

"And…you are?" Aurica questioned, hoping she wasn't ignoring protocol in some way.

"All in due time, my dear," the queen said with a wise smile. "Very soon, in fact. On another note, it is doubly good that you came at this time; a visitor wishes to see you," she said, gesturing to Aurica's right.

Aurica looked out over the lush blue flowers to see a blue-haired woman standing there that she didn't recognize. The woman suddenly approached her and smiled, saying "Yo, Aurica."

Aurica's heart almost exploded out of shock; the woman was speaking with Jack's voice.

The woman held out her hand by way of greeting. "My name's the Shimmering Blue Crocodile, but my friends call me Jack!"

"Y-you don't say," Aurica said (now sweating profusely), and nervously extended her own hand to shake 'Jack's.'

At contact, the stranger's head suddenly disintegrated into bright red light, and a sapphire blue crocodile with extra-tall teeth the size of porcupine quills crawled out, and proceeded to hover through the air to the side of Aurica's head. Aurica began to shake as the crocodile's mouth opened up slightly, and proceeded to speak in a deep guttural vibe in her ear. "When the time is right, love me for the sake of the world and for the one you love."

The queen suddenly appeared at Aurica's other ear, and she leaned in and said, "One last thing; you MUST participate in the Rite of Slumber ten minutes before the apocalypse, else the future will repeat itself."

"Th-that doesn't make any sense!" Aurica screamed. "WHAT is the Rite of Slumber? Why do I have to be here? Leave me alone!!!" Aurica suddenly was knocked out cold, and when she came to, she looked up into Jack's roughly-carved features. "It's- it's you," she breathed. "I mean, really you!"

"Um…yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhh, it's me alright." Jack said with an eyebrow cocked. "Are you alright, Aurica?" Aurica looked around and realized she was in the pleasantly normal hallway of the Tenba Corporation. "Everyone's been worried sick about you!"

"Wh-what was I like just now?"

"You suddenly became stiffly erect, with a pleasant expression on your face," Shurelia said, stooping down and lending a hand to support the Trinity Divinator's sweaty head. "…May I ask what just happened?" she hesitated, and then added, "Or where you went?"

Aurica's eyes widened. "I-I have no idea of neither at the moment," she said in a shaky voice. "Give me some time to sort it out…"

"It's alright, we got you," Radolf assured her, grabbing her from behind (carefully avoiding her chest) and snugly lifting her back up to her feet. "We won't let anything happen to you."

"It's funny…" Aurica said, staring off into space, wondering exactly what was real, "I didn't actually feel in any real danger there," she looked at Shurelia. "I kinda want to go back!" At this, Shurelia looked away, a bit of concern in her eyes. Aurica didn't feel guilty though; she was just voicing her true feelings.

"If Lady Aurica is alright?" the President of Tenba said, who evidently hadn't left his earlier position in front of the door. Aurica nodded, accidentally touching her forehead, which seemed to be flooding with sweat. 'At least Lyner's not here,' she thought with relief. Even wearing Lilim, she was sure her sweat was making short work of her attractiveness. "Then, I suggest we continue the conference. I believe I can provide you all with some good news," Devon announced, and led the heroes into the darkness.

A few yards away, Vincent stroked his navy blue goatee in thought, his eyes never ending their appraisal of Aurica. If this meant what he thought…no, he must not jump to conclusions, or else he would be severely punished by his master. He would have to ask the attractive Class-D Reyvateil about her experience later, he supposed.

_Meanwhile, on the Mayor's Barge_

Misha and Lyner walked towards the back of the ship, hand in hand. The Mayor's quarter's were a shocking contrast to the glitzy hallway he and Misha had just left; the reception area had an air of seediness and dilapidation, although he couldn't pinpoint the source of it. The low-ceilinged room was dark, only dimly lit by swinging iron lanterns. The couches seemed far too large and consuming than the room could provide for, and Lyner didn't much care for the brown mantra that the room seemed to advertise. A receptionist with pulled-up blonde hair and ugly black tattoos on the outer sides of both of her eyes looked up from her dark viewscreen and smiled. "Hey, Misha! It's great to see you again!"

Misha smiled, trying hard to hide the blatant disgust on her face. "Hello, Tory. I trust all is well."

"Yep! The Mayor's really, really excited to see you again! It's so sweet; he always gets all wound up whenever you're coming!"

Misha laughed nervously, as Tory whipped her head around to inspect Lyner. "My, who is this hot young man? I didn't know anyone else was coming." she said in utter awe of him.

As Lyner goggled at her and started to explain, "I'm thirty!" Misha huffed and turned a delicate shade of pink, wrapping her other arm around Lyner's. "I'm sorry, that's no fault of mine! I brought Lyner here on the Mayor's direct orders! It's not my fault if he doesn't trust you with such important information." Lyner smiled; Misha sure had a vendetta against this disturbing girl (not that he liked her much, himself).

Tory pursed her lips. "Well, if he is to see a guest, as you say, why don't you go heal him properly before he meets this, er, Lyner, did you say it was?" the oddly-decorated woman asked, receiving a curt nod from the hunched-over hero. (The ceiling was far too low for Lyner to stand up comfortably in)

"I-I guess you're right…" Misha said, and turned to look wide-eyed into her crush's face. "Stay right here, okay? I'll just be a moment." With a slight flutter of her eyes, Misha let go of his strong arms and headed for a doorway decorated with bamboo beads.

Lyner didn't feel comfortable sitting in the overbearing couches, so he continued to stand, eying Tory suspiciously. He didn't want to look rude and fondle his sword handle in case of an attack, but something about her certainly made him wary. As Misha began to sing the beautiful melody of [Blue Magic Shaman, Tory grinned and slipped out from behind her counter. She was wearing a tight melon-colored silk dress with a yellow sash across her tummy. "How do you like my incense?" she asked, gesturing at brown stalks on a plastic shelf near the wall to Lyner's right.

"Well, I've never been much of a fan of incense I suppose," Lyner said, looking at the sticks, "But I guess…"

Suddenly Tory thrust her hand – hard – into his crotch. Lyner felt incredible pain reverbate throughout his body and across his nervous system like a legion of invading static. His face contorted awfully, but for some reason, his muscles stopped responding to his mind's commands, and he was unable to scream, let alone reach for his sword. Tory's eyes flashed black and she laughed with a Devil's echo as she reached even farther up the crater she had made in Lyner's pelvis. Then, with a single blink of her eye, thick maroon light with the texture of blood began to burst out her mouth, and it began to smother Lyner so that he could barely see. Forcing his eyes downward, however, he saw a rapid rate of electrically-charged black ooze flooding from her wrist into the remains of his beloved crotch. He was sure the rest of her hand was similarly oozing out the liquid into him, but it was too deep into the crevasse for him to see.

Lyner mouthed a name to her in the form of a question: "_Iapetus?_" Tory's smile widened impossibly more, and she replied, "After a fashion." The pain throbbed with the beat of raucous tom-tom's thoughout his very core, and after a few more seconds of staring her down unflinchingly, he collapsed backwards, but didn't get the pleasure of reaching the floor, as she still held him in place at the apex of his pelvis.

Lyner's eyes snapped open after what felt like a second later, and his gaze was met by Shurelia's gorgeous turquoise eyes.

"Wha-? Who-? SHURELIA?!" he asked incredulously.

She laughed innocently. "Oh, Lyner, I'm so glad to see you're alright! You've been out for two hours straight!"

It was then that Lyner realized his location: Shurelia's lap. Suddenly insecure, he shot straight up in the air and landed on his feet, breathing quickly. "Lyner, are you alright?" she demanded, having never seen him act this feverish before.

Lyner felt down his pants frantically; and to his amazement, found his gonads completely intact. A wave of puzzlement washed over him, and he threw off his pants to get a better view. Sure enough, it appeared to be good as new. He even gave it an extra jiggle as an experiment, and all components bounded along cooperatively. "It-it's still there!" Lyner said, emotional relief decorating his breathless voice.

Then he noticed Shurelia staring at him with her mouth wide open, mute rapture dominating her fair features. "Wow…" she murmured, "now we're really GETTING somewhere!"

Suddenly feeling more uncomfortable than he ever had before in his life, he squawked and covered himself up completely. "Yeeeahhh, you, um, weren't supposed to see that. Yet." He said, flushing madly with embarrassment. "If ever."

Shurelia glared at him. "Well, how am I supposed to know you weren't doing that on purpose because you were so turned on by waking up in my lap?"

Lyner slapped a hand to his forehead in frustration, but then quickly replaced it, noting Shurelia's returned fascination with his pelvic area. "Shurelia; does that even REMOTELY sound like something I would do?" He turned around and pulled up his pants before anything else happened.

Shurelia blushed ferociously. "I'm sorry, Lyner; you're right I got my hopes way high up for no reason."

Having successfully re-clothed himself, he turned around and wrapped her in a full embrace. "Don't apologize!" he said. "I'm the one who should be saying sorry for kissing Aurica and Misha today."

Shurelia nibbled on his ear and said, "Well, you can make it up to me when you spend tonight with me!" She crossed her fingers, hoping it would still happen.

"Count on it," he said with a warm smile, and then pulled away from her and looked deeply into her eyes. "So – where are we, exactly?"

"This!" Shurelia said, gesturing excitedly around her, "is Jack's gigantic deep-range ship, the _Granny_! I mean, it's HUGE!"

Lyner smirked. "Cool. I've never been on a ship from this line before. Why's it so hot in here?"

"Well, Nervocelambra is an extremely long way away, even with the warp engines on this ship, so Jack took the air conditioning off-line to conserve energy."

"Right," Lyner said, and then suddenly realized something. "Wait, how long have we been traveling?"

"Oh, about 56 minutes…" Shurelia said, spreading her hands by way of explanation.

"Then we should still be able to see the tower!!" Lyner exclaimed manically. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the room with fervor; he had never been outside of Ar Tonelico before, so this was kind of like leaving his home planet. Having had a hand in the current state of things in the tower, Lyner felt particularly fond of the fantastic monolith, and he really wanted to see the whole tower in one glance if he could.

As he raced out of the living wing with Shurelia, Lyner realized he was lost in a complex maze of blue-tinted tile walkways. The walls were all see-through, which lent the ship a gorgeous view of itself from inside; through the cloudy air Lyner could see at least three floors of convoluted blue tile mazes from where he stood. Wide-eyed, he turned to Shurelia. "Um…it's freaking huge!" he said with a goofy grin.

"Yep," Shurelia said, rolling her eyes. She proceeded to lead him now, since he had apparently stopped his mad dash to see the tower. Directly to the right, they used a small elevator tube to ascend to the second floor, where she asked him, "Would you like to join Aurica and Misha at the viewing dock?"

Lyner shrugged. "Actually, I'd rather just stay with you, Shurelia." She looked a little surprised. "We can see for miles on end right here anyway!"

"BUT we can't see the tower from here, you stubborn goat-face!" Shurelia said, attempting in vain to keep her face serious.

Lyner started. "Whaddya mean, 'goat-face?'"

Shurelia just laughed and pushed him down one of many nearby transcluscent corridors. "Don't forget, I've never seen Ar Tonelico from a distance, either!"

"Okay, okay! How do you know your way around here, anyway?"

"I DESIGNED it, you crazy ditz!"

"Oh." Lyner looked around. "Well, I can't say much for your ship design flair!"

"Wha-aat??!" Shurelia hollered. "Well I'd sure like to see you design a ship! If it ever got off the ground, it would probably explode from hydrogen build-up!"

"Um, no it wouldn't, because I would be having you levitate it from inside!" Lyner laughed.

The two continued to banter in such a manner until they reached the porcelain seal that led to the viewing dock. After the door obediently dissolved into thin air, Aurica and Misha turned around, beaming widely (Misha had returned to her earlier costume of China Dress, while Aurica had apparently grown comfortable flaunting her skin in Lilim). Lyner's jaw dropped at his surroundings; the room had smaller, pulsating blue tiles on both the ceiling and floor, while the viewglass surrounding them appeared to be some sort of magnification spectrum, which was currently displaying the entire gorgeous view of Ar Tonelico. "We focused it on Ar Tonelico!" Misha said breathlessly. "Isn't it beautiful, Lyner?!"

"Yeah, it is!" Lyner said, taking a moment to take in the phenomenal view of his home.

"It's strange, but I have this horrible feeling that I'll never see it again…" Aurica said, her voice twisted by emotion.

The cracking of her voice caught Lyner's attention. "Wh-why on Sol Ciel would you say that?" Aurica only wavered; she seemed especially weak for some reason, like she was on the verge of giving into a sudden flood of tiredness. Lyner hurriedly strode to her side and put his arm around her warm, slender waist. "I swear, Aurica…I would surrender my life to get you back home after this trip." Lyner personally hadn't seen these Reyvateil monsters they were supposed to be fighting, but if they caused the normally unflinching Aurica worry, perhaps he should dreading them as well.

"I feel it too!" Misha said suddenly, staring intently out the magnified viewscreen. "Like I'll never see Ar Tonelico again with these two eyes."

Shurelia quietly drifted over to Lyner's side and held his free hand. "It's probably due to the sudden lack of Song you feel; Ar Tonelico is shrouded by a continual spectrum of Song. Out here, there is only the Sea of Death…remnants of wars and atrocities from the past." She seemed to silently reflect for a time, and then continued, "It feels so…DEAD out here. I miss her already," she said, staring at Ar Tonelico.

Lyner didn't really know how to respond to the observations of his Reyvateil companions, so he just stood and soaked up the majesty watching the tower in the company of the three most beautiful women he had ever met. Misha walked over to Lyner's back and threaded her arms around his chest. Suddenly growing uncomfortable from all the contact, he managed to slowly disentangle himself from the various grips of his friends.

Turning to face Misha, he asked her, "So, uh…what exactly happened at the Mayor's place?" This had been bothering him ever since he woke up.

"Oh, it was so weird!" Misha said, both hands flying up to her mouth at the memory. "As I was singing to the mayor, I heard something like a devil speaking tongues outside, so I sped up the tempo. Once I finished I ran outside into thick red smog and found you collapsed on the floor with your penis hanging out!" she said, which caused an amused smile to land on Aurica's lips. Lyner scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "And Tory was…GONE!" she finished. "What happened from your point of view?"

"Uh…" Lyner said, "She was showing me some incense, and then she suddenly, um…penetrated me. In a bad place."

Shurelia's eyes widened. "Oh, so that's why you graced me with your downstairs earlier!"

Lyner nodded. "It looked like she was shooting black stuff into me…at any rate, I don't think anything should be down there at all, based on what happened."

Misha looked very concerned, although Aurica appeared to be pondering what Shurelia's use of the word 'graced' could possibly connotate. "Did – did it hurt?" Misha asked worriedly.

"OH yeah!" Lyner said. "In fact, I can still feel the pain bouncing through my whole body! Is there a doctor on board, anyway?"

"Actually, yeah!" Aurica exclaimed. "It's that really buff guy from the meeting, what's his name?"

"Vincent," Shurelia said, a bit of a satisfied smirk suggesting itself on her lips.

"Oh yeah, Vincent!" Aurica said, staring dreamily off into space. "He's got a nice butt!"

Lyner glared at her coldly. "Well…I think he's kinda creepy, actually."

"Ooh, look at that, Aurica! Lyner's jealous!" Misha murmured gleefully to her friend.

"I'm not - !" Lyner began, looking supremely annoyed at Misha. "But, I really do think he's weird, somehow! Anyway, does he have his credentials in order?" he grumbled.

"Yeah! He's Tenba's second-in-command; they say he was a child prodigy, and Devon says he's absolutely brilliant." Shurelia said, grabbing ahold of Lyner's hand again.

"Well, that's good, at least," Lyner said. "Maybe he can give us some solid evidence of what really happened on the Mayor's barge. Could you lead me there, Shurelia?"

"Of course!" she said, taking his arm in hers and leading him out of the viewing dock. Misha and Aurica both strode after them.

"Ooh, I'm coming too!" Aurica said. "Maybe I'll see him with his shirt off this time, if we're lucky!" It was all Lyner could do to not turn and strangle the Trinity Divinator.

"Uh-huh…" Lyner said, as Shurelia led them into the circular elevator, which went down two floors. "I suppose you're here for "_Vincent_" as well then, Misha?" he said, inserting as much venom as he could into the scientist's name.

"Of course not!" Misha yelled. "I just want to make sure you're alright!"

"Ah, th-that's why I'm coming too, of course!" Aurica said reassuringly. "That's the real, MAIN reason I'm coming!"

"Yep, sure it is!" Shurelia said in a low, amused voice. Lyner threw a murderous glare at Aurica, and allowed his girlfriend to steer him to the medical laboratory.

When they reached the door, Lyner paused. "Um…could I get you all to wait outside?"

"Well, sure!" Shurelia said with her eyebrows raised. She was certainly acting a lot more agreeable than earlier that day, Lyner thought.

"Why?" Misha asked, and Aurica nodded her enthusiastic agreement with Misha's question.

"BeCAUSE he's gonna analyze my crotch!" the Knight of Elemia exclaimed, clearly quite angry. "And I don't need you two analyzing it also!" With that, he whirled around and strode into the laboratory, his purple cape flowing out impressively behind him.

As soon as he left, Shurelia opened her mouth and turned to Aurica. "You know… I don't really think that jealousy angle is going to land you a good relationship with Lyner…"

Aurica laughed. "Well, it sure worked, didn't it? But you see, it's only the first phase of my plan. I have to make him so jealous that he'll do anything to get me back!"

Misha shook her head and turned to face her, her "drums" tonking. "Yeeeaaahh, good luck with that," she said, sounding a lot like Jack. "I'm pretty sure he just plain wants to kill you now."

Aurica giggled. "We'll see in the end, won't we?" In fact, it touched her a little that her ploys made Lyner so emotional so easily. Apparently, he wanted her much more than he let on. It wasn't all a ploy, though… 'a girl's gotta have options, after all,' Aurica told herself. In fact, she had seen hundreds of suitors the last ten years, and none of them had seized her fancy like this blue-haired scientist had. Whenever Vincent spoke, something deep in his eyes made Aurica just want to spend the rest of her life with him. Not to the extent that Lyner did, but he at least had an echo of Lyner's billowing charisma. As much as Aurica hated to admit it, if Vincent asked her out, she knew she wouldn't be able to say no.

Author's Note: Ohh, snap! Lyner's got some competition! Please write in and tell me who you want Lyner to end up with.  Join me next time for a short glimpse of the second amplification tower, Ign Saradorn.


	8. Voyage To Nervocelambra

A/N: Well, it's been awhile since I reminded everyone that I don't own anything… so I would like to take this lovely opportunity to remind you!!! Ahem… I don't own anything!

Now that we've got that settled, might I add that the inspiration for Nervocelambra was the Flaming Lips song "Brainville." A great song off a great album.

Thanks for the reviews!

And…sorry about the relatively long wait. I just got Persona 3 for the PS2, so it's occupying my time that formerly went to writing. Plus, school (that evil, evil institution!) is getting in the way too! Grr.

Now then, back to:

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

**Warning:** There is some suggestive content in this chapter. (Nothing too bad)

Chapter 7: Voyage to Nervocelambra

Vincent was stooped over several vials, examining them for properties that might benefit his new Quiad-seeker mechanism that he had brought along on the trip (with any luck, being able to sense the proximity of Quiad energy nearby would be an invaluable weapon against these forbidden Reyvateils). He heard the sliding door open, and turned around to see Lyner Barsett, the second-most famous man in all of Ar Tonelico stride in, looking more haughty than Vincent could have been prepared for. The scientist bowed low, saying, "Ah, Mr. Barsett, I was wondering when you might drop by to visit. Might I say that it is a distinct honor to be serving with you…"

As Vincent was speaking, Lyner took the liberty of vaulting himself onto Vincent's examination table and promptly pulling down his pants. "Analyze me, now," the Knight of Elemia commanded.

"…on this mission," Vincent's voice trailed off. "Er…what's the matter, feeling a little limp?" he quipped.

Lyner laughed shortly. "Not at all, especially now that Aurica and Misha started pursuing me again. What I want is for you to analyze my junk for any traces of Quiad."

Vincent cocked his head in surprise. "Really? That is certainly an interesting place for it!" He picked up his prototype Quiad-seeker and began to scan Lyner's netherparts for traces of any of the five known strains of Quiad. A low beep rang out from the machine, signifying a large presence of the black orb's energy. "Eh, nope, that beep means that nothing at all was found!" Vincent said in puzzlement.

At that moment, a curvy-bodied Reyvateil with wavy green hair and an especially revealing white kimono stepped around the corner, inspiring Lyner to quickly cover himself up in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry to startle you," Vincent said. "This is my new standard-issue Reyvateil from Tenba, Mahine."

Mahine curtsied shyly. "Um, it's good to meet you, Lyner!"

"Er," Lyner said, blushing and trying to re-zip his fly without exposing himself to the Reyvateil. "It's nice to meet you to." Having successfully covered his gonads again, he stood up and got back down to business, addressing Vincent. "Well; the woman that attacked me a couple hours ago SAID she was Iapetus, and it looked like she shot black slime into me, like that stuff they found on this ship…"

Vincent shook his head and cut Lyner off. "Lyner, it couldn't have been Iapetus; the Reyvateil of Darkness has jet black skin and glowing violet eyes. You would have recognized her instantly."

"Okayy…wait, how do YOU know what she looks like?"

Vincent rolled his eyes. "The Quiad Reyvateils are in my line of work, my lord. The women who become host to the Quiad orbs usually submit to the likeness of the orb, and then usually take three to six weeks to build up the monstrous castles around themselves."

"Oh." Lyner said, wishing he knew a little more about the situation at hand. He knew SOMEthing had happened back at the mayor's place (Misha could vouch for that), but Vincent didn't seem to be going out of his way to help him. "I-I guess I'll be going, then."

He waved goodbye to Mahine (who smiled quietly back at him), and strolled back outside. Upon leaving the medical laboratory, Shurelia approached him. "Are you tired yet?"

Lyner smiled. "Oh, yeah! I'm exhausted for some reason."

"Well, we wouldn't want that for our upcoming battles, now would we!"

"Of course not!" Lyner said, throwing an arm around her and pulling her close. Sleep sounded really good to him right then, which was probably an aftereffect of Tory's attack. "So, where are Aurica and Misha anyway?"

Shurelia grinned craftily. "I told them I'd race them to the rec area, which is AWEsome, by the way, you'd LOVE it! I sprinted around the corner, and my sash around my tummy came undone, so of course I was all exposed. As Aurica caught up with me, she saw Jack checking me out from far away, so she stood there to block him as he came running after me!" At this Shurelia smiled broadly, although Lyner didn't think there was anything particularly amusing about Jack seeing his girlfriend nude from the front. "Anyway, I ran back the other way, holding my flap closed, and I passed Misha, telling her I'd go the long way to the rec area. BUT of course, I never planned on going there in the first place! I just barely had time to tie my Yukata back together before you came back out."

Lyner laughed. "Good thinking! So, back to your quarters then?"

"Oh, but of course!" Shurelia said, bubbling over with excitement. She threw her arm around his waist and began to lead him back to their bedroom as fast as she could without fearing that her clothes would come off again. Suddenly, however, Aurica appeared around a corner as they neared the sleeping dorms.

"Aurica!" Shurelia exclaimed in surprise. "I thought- well, thanks for your help back there!"

Aurica laughed. "No problem; Jack needs to learn a little loyalty to Krusche anyway." She looked shyly at Lyner. "Uh, Lyner, I really need to talk to you," she gestured to her sleeping quarters. "Maybe we could go in there for a while?"

Lyner shook his head. "Sorry Aurica, but I promised Shurelia I'd spend some time alone with her tonight-"

"No, Lyner, this is really important!" Aurica exclaimed, looking urgently into his eyes. She grasped his hands with her own shaking ones.

Shurelia touched Lyner on the shoulder. "Lyner, please – this is really important to me, to US for us to do this!" her eyes were wide and pleading, as well.

Lyner looked back at Aurica, and his breath caught when he saw the emotions in her eyes. Unlike Shurelia, she had a sort of deathly desperation lurid in her eyes. He sighed, hating himself for what he was about to say, and shook his head. "I'm really sorry Aurica, but a promise is a promise. We'll have plenty of chances to talk later, ok?"

"Y-yeah, right," Aurica said, sighing and returning to her room.

As he wondered what was bothering her, he felt a warm hand come up and stoke his neck. "Thanks Lyner!" Shurelia cooed. "Let's go back into my room now and do it!"

Lyner forced his frame of mind back into that of a loving boyfriend and grinned, pushing her down the hall to her room.

* * *

Apparently, Shurelia's definition of "doing it" was sleeping in bed together with Yeeka in the middle, with their hands held over the sleeping dragon youth. On the upside, Shurelia was wearing some very alluring lingerie, but Lyner was unable to see very much of her because of the dragon's wingspan. His overwhelming emotion at the moment, however, was guilt. 

"Sorry for being so mean to you earlier today!" Shurelia said cheerily. "I didn't mean anything by it at all! I love you, Lyner!"

"Shurelia, we shouldn't have ever come here," Lyner said softly.

Shurelia got up on her side and looked at him confusedly. "It's not like you to run away from adventure, Lyner. Is something wrong?"

"Well, yeah," Lyner said. "Before we came here, I was completely in love with you, Shurelia, and I couldn't have wanted it any other way. But you know, bliss really is ignorance!"

"Uh, I think it actually goes, 'ignorance is bliss…"

"I told myself I wanted to see Aurica and Misha one more time just to make sure I had no lingering feelings for either of them before asking you to marry me, but…that was a mistake." He turned on his side to look into her eyes. "When I spent time with both of them, (Lyner decided it was probably for the best not to tell Shurelia about his secret kiss with Misha) I found out that…" It was hard for him to actually say it; he feared that voicing his suspicions would make them reality. "I love both of them. A lot," he said, his voice sounding labored.

"I know," Shurelia said warmly. Lyner cocked an eyebrow at her. "It's always been that way. I'm just so glad that you haven't given up on me yet!"

Lyner sighed. "I hope I haven't…I really love you Shurelia."

"I know you haven't, 'cause you're right here with me!" the blue haired tower administrator said in delight, unceremoniously grabbing Yeeka and slinging him off the bed, much to the dragon's angry protest. Shurelia slid across the bed and hugged the boxers-only-clad Lyner as passionately as she could. He blushed, and kissed her.

"I guess you're right," Lyner said. "But…now that I'm here with Aurica and Misha again, I don't think I can ask you to marry me!"

Shurelia looked up at him, relaxing her tight embrace on her boyfriend. "Why not? It doesn't really take much work…"

"You don't understand; it's really hard for a guy to be loved by three girls."

Shurelia cocked an eyebrow. "Uh…right," she said unbelievingly.

"No, just listen! I do appreciate that it's hard for you to share affections for me with two other girls, but…I actually do also have it hard." Shurelia placed her elbows on his toned chest, listening expectantly. "I've dived as far as possible into all three of you; having done that, all three of you are as much a part of me as I am a part of each of you, if that makes any sense. Every time I do any action, I hear Aurica, Misha, and your voices all in my mind, telling me what you think of it. I don't know what I would do if any of you went out of my life – that's why I can't marry any one of you, because the marriage would just be a lie, since two others also equally have my heart, mind, and body hostage."

Shurelia nodded, and pulled herself up to his face, giving him a heartfelt kiss. "I understand," she said. "I'm disappointed, but I do actually understand now what it's like for you a little better."

Lyner looked up at her lovingly, and felt ecstatic on one hand having his dream girl on his chest, but guilty on the other hand since he felt he was betraying Misha and Aurica a little bit by being with Shurelia like this. Giving into this guilt, he gently turned on his side with Shurelia to get her off. "Look, I love you… but, now you know why we can't do anything like, like THAT!"

Shurelia sighed and kissed his neck. "But, Lyner, from the very first day I met you, I've always wanted to marry you and be your lover. Are you saying… are you saying that'll never happen?"

Lyner sighed. "That's the only solution I can come up with." Shurelia looked up at him one last time with tears beginning to surface in her eyes, and then slid back onto the opposite side of the bed with her backed turned to him in defiance. Lyner mentally kicked himself. Was this really the only way? Did he actually love all of them so much that his only choice was to be alone for the rest of his life? "Shurelia…let's not worry about this for now. After we kill all five Reyvateils and Ayano's murderer, I swear – w-we'll come up with SOMETHING!"

Shurelia didn't answer, instead lifting Yeeka off the floor and stroking it tenderly.

Lyner didn't want to be alone forever; he promised himself he would think about it and have a solution by the end of the journey. "I will decide on one of you to marry after this, I swear."

To his complete and utter astonishment, Shurelia turned back over and glared at him, her expression seething. "I don't want to hear that anymore! No more promises!" With that, she picked up Yeeka and strode out of her own room angrily, grabbing a robe on her way out.

Lyner sat in silence, now feeling like a terrible person. He decided that he had no business sleeping here, now, so he made up his mind to go around and catch up with the rest of his friends. As he bent over and donned his armor, he briefly considered breaking with tradition and marrying all three of them, but decided that he would still be in the same predicament that he was in now; in that situation, there would be no way he could care for them all with the same passion, and they would all want more from him than he could give. Lyner opted to just give the matter a rest and trotted out the door to talk with his old comrades. He wished Shurelia wouldn't get so worked up about all this, but he couldn't really blame her either. He had simultaneously ruined all three girls' dreams and his own; how could any of them not be mad at him?

* * *

First, Lyner seeked out Radolf to get more caught up on what they were facing. Radolf was happy to help, of course; of all the members of the party, the bishop was always the most forgiving and easygoing, the two qualities in a companion that Lyner especially yearned for right now. 

"Ok, so of course there's Rhea and Iapetus," Lyner began. "Who are the other three forbidden Reyvateils?"

Radolf smiled. "Well, the pink orb produces Mimas, the Reyvateil of Love, whose element is Water. The orange one is Epimetheus, the Reyvateil of Demonizing, whose element is Fire. Lastly, the white orb makes Tethys, the Reyvateil of Determination, whose element is Stone. However, I think you should know that Rhea is the Reyvateil of Life and has the Gaia element, while Iapetus had the Thunder element, in case we run across either of them."

Lyner retained around 1 of this information. "What the- HOW in the BOSOM of Frelia do you know all that?!?" the knight of Elemia cursed.

Radolf chortled. "One of an archbishop's main duties is to be a literary expert in all the holy legends. Although this one is often slighted by the church, I had to memorize some information about it, too."

"Uh-huh…" Lyner said, privately thanking the gods that he hadn't chosen to become a bishop like Radolf. "Erm…I'll just let you keep on being the expert on that, then. If I have any questions, I-"

"Well, here, if you'd like, I could put all necessary data on a holo-ring for you." Radolf said understandingly. "That way, you could learn it in your spare time."

"Alright, sounds great!" Lyner said, remembering how handy the holo-ring Shurelia provided him long ago turned out to be. He took it off his finger, holding it out for Radolf to insert into his personal database mainframe. "You can just put it on this one that Shurelia gave me."

"Sure!" Radolf said with a smile, sliding the ring into the computer. "Oh, by the way, Shurelia walked past here very briskly a little bit before you came. She was holding herself and crying – what happened?"

"Well…" Lyner said, not exactly sure what to say.

"Did you break up with her?" Radolf asked excitedly.

"No, I mean, I don't think so. We just had a fight, is all. She needed a little alone time."

"Oh…" Radolf said, looking a little forlorn.

"Wait!" Lyner said, noting Radolf's odd behaviors. "Do you want to date her or something? I never knew you had hormones!"

Radolf snorted. "Uh, no. I was just hoping that you were available again."

"Whoa, you're GAY?!?" Lyner exclaimed juvenilely, covering his crotch in protection.

"NO!" Radolf yelled. "Aurica loves you, you know! I'm looking out for her, is all."

"Ohhhhhhh," Lyner said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "I thought I was about to have four admirers. That's a relief."

"Seriously man, you're all Aurica ever thinks about. You're her muse for her work, and she's turned down several hundred suitors over the years in expectation for you. And whenever she sees you with Shurelia, she locks herself in her room and pouts for days on end!" Radolf said, looking very serious.

"I-I know all that," Lyner said, breaking eye contact nervously and feeling ashamed.

"Then, break up with Shurelia! Aurica loves you more than any of them!" Radolf said with a grin.

Lyner hung his head. "I wish I could, Radolf, really I do."

"You take her for granted," Radolf said, folding his arms crossly. "You have no idea how happy she'd be if you married her."

"Hehe, yeah, she'd probably explode!"

The bishop rolled his eyes, and retrieved the ring from his computer. "Well, it's done," He said, handing it back over to Lyner. "Just… think a little about what I said, ok? Aurica would be a very wise person to pursue."

"I know, Radolf," Lyner said, grimacing and scratching his neck nervously. He had come to the bishop to get away from these kinds of conversations, not stimulate them.

* * *

Shurelia had finally calmed down; the dark clouds of the Sea of Death were oddly soothing, in a way. She wiped the last of tears off her cheeks, feeling horrible. What was wrong with her? Although he had dismissed her hope of marriage, he did say he would think about it the rest of the trip. And then she had been an idiot and got up and screamed at him again. Shurelia sighed, two times today she had lost major points in the eyes of the only person who mattered to her at all. She clenched her fist determinately; from now on, competion was going to get really fierce between the three Reyvateils. She was going to have to up the ante a lot, to get him to lust after her even more than ever, especially to make up for her terrible mistakes today. She looked at her open, dark hand, musing that it was perhaps better this way. Now, her future with Lyner would be entirely up to her success or failure at courting him. She immediately started planning ways to flirt with him in ways that Aurica or Misha couldn't.

* * *

Next, Lyner went to _The Granny's_ cockpit to speak with Jack, who was piloting the ship with airy ease. 

"Lyner! Bro!" Jack exclaimed, standing up and punching Lyner hard on the arm. "How's business?"

"Uh, hey Jack," Lyner said with a grin, rubbing his sore arm. "What business?"

"What business?" Jack echoed to himself, touching his brow. "Uh, the business of pimping the three hottest girls EVER!!!"

"Oh, right," Lyner said with a snort. He should have expected as much from the perverted gunman. "Well, it's going, I guess."

"Thatta-boy!" Jack said, nudging him. He gestured to the co-pilot's chair. "Here, take a seat, my man!"

"Alright." Lyner seated himself next to Jack.

"So, you saw Mahine, right?" Jack said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah," Lyner said, inwardly bracing himself for what was coming.

"Did you SEE those honkers?! Jeez, they're even bigger than Aurica's! Not quite Misha quality, though," he said, looking furtively at his traveling partner, wanting to do what he could to get the two together.

"Yeeeaaahh," Lyner said. "Uh, listen, she's someone ELSE's girlfriend, not yours!" Jack dismissed this trifle with a wave. "Speaking of which, how come you've never had a Reyvateil partner?"

"Well, you know how it is, you just get tired of 'em after a while. Reyvateils like long relationships, but guys like me and you, we can't stand those, eh? Gotta try em all, eh? You know what I mean!" he said, nudging Lyner again.

"Ummmm, I guess you're right about that, only in a really, really twisted way…"

"Hahaha, that's the spirit!" Jack said, clapping his knee in glee. "So uh, how far have you gone with Shurelia yet? Hit her outta the park yet?"

This time Lyner had no idea what Jack meant. "Uh…however far sleeping with a dragon between us is," he said, shaking his head at Jack's one-track mind.

"OOoh, sounds kinky!" Jack said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "I'll have to try that sometime once I nail a night out with Mahine. You mind if I borrow Yeeka when that happens?"

Lyner snorted, "I sure don't, but Shurelia would throw a fit. By the way, I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about this place we're going to?"

"Where, Nervocelambra?!?" Jack cried. "It's the best damned city on the whole map! It's the world's only working anarchy, although they do have a respected elder council that only assembles when something threatens the entire city. It's – just gorgeous, you'll see it soon. Plus, they got all these weird traditions. For instance, all people have their own non-violent robot servant, all males are awarded a standard-issue hoverboard at the age of 14, and they're just great, I tried 'em myself! Also, if a female has 3 kids, she gets a giant pet pterodon!"

"Wh-what's a Pterodon?"

"It's like a giant flying lizard…thingy…" Jack said unhelpfully. "Anyway, they're really, REALLY technologically advanced. Their society is powered by some gadget from an age long, long ago, before Ar Tonelico was constructed. Somehow, they survived the world's destruction! It's so cool! Well, literally, actually. The Nervocelambrans like the temperature to be a constant 0 degrees Celsius, so it's like, oh mama, I wish I had I busload of fat chicks on me type cold there. Just a heads up."

"Y-yeah," Lyner said, unable to comprehend what could possess Jack to make such a disturbing mental image. "Sounds pretty crazy!"

"Oh, you don't know the half of it!!" Jack yelled, apparently quite excited about the city. "Oops, how rude of me, would you like a bottle o' booze?" the gunman yelled, grabbing a bottle of sake and thrusting it in his guest's face. Lyner shook his head, batting the bottle away. One bottle a day was more than enough for Lyner's stomach. Jack shrugged and pulled off the cork with his teeth, downing a large portion while continuing to pilot the ship through the haze. "Another thing you should know, though," he said in a low voice, "Is that some of the people have like, really really hard blue skin. DON'T get in a fight with one of them; it's like they can't feel pain."

"Oh, right," Lyner said. "So, you said it was an anarchy? Are there a lot of fights?"

"No, not really," Jack said. "They're actually a very peaceful people. I kinda like them. And let me tell you, they've got some FINE lookin' chicks there!"

Unable to hear any more about Jack's romantic exploits and dreams without becoming queasy, Lyner quickly excused himself and went off in search of someone else to talk to.


	9. BBQ Soda!

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 8: BBQ Soda!!!

After briefly talking with Ayatane in the hallway about what he'd been up since Lyner had last seen him, Lyner decided (a little apprehensively) to go track down Aurica or Misha. Deciding he'd like to catch up a little more with Misha, he went off in search of the gorgeous star-singer, who he supposed might be working out in the rec area (even though she was horrendously un-athletic). As he wandered aimlessly around the various transparent corridors of the amazing ship, he happened to see a large globe off below him in the distance. Supposing that it was probably the rec area, he made his way (very slowly, even though he was running) towards it.

As he stepped on the 4th elevator shaft today, Lyner's thoughts drew unbidden towards that moment when Shurelia forced herself on top of him a few hours ago. He tried to clear the memory from his head by vigorously shaking it, but there it remained. Sighing, he supposed it would have been best to just leave her there. Any guy with at least half a brain would have! At least, Shurelia wouldn't be furious at him now if he did so. Who was he trying to please anyway, if not his girlfriend? Trying to force his thoughts of guilt about Aurica and Misha out of his mind, he told himself that he would ask for forgiveness the next time he saw Shurelia. 'I'd better not let Jack hear about what happened,' Lyner thought with a smirk, 'or he'd castrate me for sure!'

Fifteen minutes later, Lyner finally burst through the doors of what he hoped was the recreational area that Shurelia had mentioned. It wasn't. The globe turned out to contain the massive, combusting engine of the _Granny, _which permanently exploded into rings of neon light, each wave ricocheting throughout the room. Lyner watched the gorgeous colors in awe and appreciation for the visual spectacle for a few moments until an especially bright yellow flash illuminated Misha standing not too far away with the spiky Ice Fairy floating above her. Breaking out into a grin and waving at her, Lyner ran over to her.

"Hey Misha!" he said jubilantly. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

Misha laughed a little dazedly. She was wearing her suggestive Shinobi costume, and a few dark bruises were visible through the brown silk.

"Er…are you okay?" Lyner asked, noticing these.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Misha said, shaking her head at the aid that Lyner didn't yet offer. "I was working out at the rec area, they had like this huge castle made out of poles! So I couldn't resist climbing up there!" she said, blushing.

"Whoa, awesome! I heard they've got some great equipment in there!"

"Yeah, it is! It's so cool!" Misha agreed. She then jumped and said, "Oh, sorry, I'm so rude! This is Benedict," she said, gesturing to the underside of the combustion reactor to a plump worker with a brown hard hat that Lyner hadn't noticed before. The two waved amicably.

"Is it safe to be in here, with all that excess energy exploding everywhere?" Lyner said, turning back to the delicate beauty next to him, only to find that a can with a familiar slab of meat curled on the lid like a lime had been thrust in his face.

"Would you like some BBQ soda?" Misha said, knowing that Lyner loved the stuff.

"Sure!" Lyner said, grabbing the nonsensical beverage and slurping down the sweet barbecued pop.

"Aurica left a cooler here for Benedict, in case he got thirsty," Misha explained.

"Ohhh," Lyner said between his ravenous gulps of juicy mesquite taste. "She kind of looks out for everybody, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she does…" Misha said, wondering whether Lyner found that trait admirable or not. Deciding that he would probably want devotion to him alone, as opposed to everyone they ever come across, Misha walked over and gave him a slight hug, smiling brilliantly.

The smile reminded Lyner of his ecstasy when she called the first time he saw her this week, and he smiled at the memory. They just stood and looked into each other's eyes for a while with glowing smiles until Misha suddenly spoke, "Oh, wait! To answer your earlier question, we're, like, immune to this particular strain of song magic."

"So that's song magic?" Lyner mused, looking at the hyperactive rings emanating from the center of the dome. As he took another slurp of juicy BBQ goodness, his attention was redirected at Misha's bruises. "How did you get all of those?" he said, pointing at each of the numerous dark marks in succession.

"Oh!" she said, taking Lyner's hand and looking down. "I didn't notice those before!" She turned her head and parted her hair back to reveal a particularly bloodied cut of scalp on the side. Lyner's jaw dropped. Misha explained, "I'm so clumsy that I slipped and fell off the tower! It seemed like I hit every bar on the way down…" she swayed slightly. "I'm still a little dizzy from it," she said with a grin. "Anyways, I decided I'd had enough exercise for a while, so I left, and then saw this giant dome down here! I came here to investigate."

"I see," Lyner said, itching his hair nervously. "You shouldn't have tried to do any tricks without being spotted, you know! But at least that explains this guy," he said gesturing at the hovering ice monster grinning above her.

Misha laughed. "Yeah, I thought I needed a little bit of ice on the wound."

Suddenly, Lyner felt two sets of dainty fingers press hard on the back of his head, followed by an intense head massage. "Oh…my…goddess…es…" Lyner breathed, as his eyes rolled to the back of his head from the fine treatment he was getting. As whoever it was massaged him intensely, nervous shots of pleasure arched down through his neck and across his shoulders, filling him with a tangible sense of euphoria. While his breathing got deeper and more breathless, he felt a presence nearing the right side of his head.

"Hi, Lyner," Shurelia's voice invaded the pleasurable paradise in his mind that she had created.

"Whoa, Shur—e—lia…" Lyner said, wanting to break away and speak to her, but she continued her loving labor on the back and top of his head. He couldn't bring himself to say 'stop,' anyway.

After thirty more seconds of this treatment, Misha gently wrapped Lyner's arm in hers and pulled him away, kissing him on the cheek in love.

His eyes finally rolled back into their destined position, and he grinned at her before turning to say hi to Shurelia. When he did, it was his turn to leap, for she was wearing the rather suggestive black, laced waitress's outfit he had once seen her wear in her cosmosphere, and was looking absolutely lovely. Yeeka waited cutely at her feet, squawking a greeting to the knight before returning its gaze to its mistress. "H-hey, Shurelia!" Lyner said. "U-um, I'm sorry about what…"

Shurelia cut him off with a sharp "No! It was my fault through and through! Instead of just listening to your side for once, I acted like a child and threw a tantrum!" She walked up to him and Misha, grasping his hand and holding it to her stomach for some reason.

Lyner was about to ask whether she suspected she was pregnant when she said, "I never want to hear you say sorry anymore for stuff that happens between us!" She looked intently at him with her bright turquoise eyes. "I'll take full resposibilty from now on! It's always been my fault anyway!"

Lyner didn't quite know how to respond to this sudden change in demeanor from his girlfriend, so he just shrugged and said, "O-okay! Um…thanks for the head-thingy."

"So wait, did you guys have a fight or something?" Misha said in confusion.

Shurelia looked at Misha like it was the first time she noticed she was even here. "Oh! Well, yeah…" she said, regret marring her delicate features. Shurelia snapped out of it then. "But it looks like you guys did too!" she said, noting Misha's abrasions. "Or…something," she said, looking at Lyner mischeviously.

"The only reason I got hurt was because YOU were supposed to be there spotting me!" Misha accused the tower administrator. "Why didn't you ever show up?"

Before Shurelia could respond, Jack's nasal voice came over the intercom. "_Attention passengers; we are now on approach to the dock at Nervocelambra. Check it out!_"

"Hey, SWEET!" Lyner exclaimed, suddenly channeling the energy that Shurelia stimulated into him. He paused, and then grabbed both women around the waist and ran them out of the engine room, leaving Benedict as he popped open another can of BBQ Soda.

The three ran outside to analyze the view through the ship's transparent frame. The atmosphere outside appeared to morph into an oddly orange-tinted compound, with violet static visible on the various clouds the _Granny_ was flying through. The _Granny_ suddenly dove through the last of these clouds, revealing a huge floating island paradise below them. Lyner counted over twenty flying dragon-like creatures (which he assumed must be the friendly 'Pterodon' creatures Jack mentioned earlier) flying through the orange-glowing air. Although the city appeared to boast technological mastery (two extremely large blue towers stood watch over the rest of the bustling city), it also appeared to have maintained a healthy dose of the natural. About half of the ground was covered with a variety of vegetation, mostly of the tropical variety, leading Lyner to suspect that the ground here was quite fertile (like Aurica, he suspected). Speaking of which, he looked around throughout the rest of the ship and spotted Aurica and Radolf standing together some distance above them. Lyner smiled and waved, hoping to catch Aurica's eye. She did, grinning widely and waving back. Apparently, she had grown tired of Lilim and had thus donned Seraph instead. Although it was not nearly as flattering, Lyner thought he preferred this one more an Aurica; it just seemed to suit her better. (Not to mention the fact that she looks strangely cute as a buff angel)

The hulking deep-probing ship circled the large island twice (by which time Lyner had finally spotted one of the rumored hoverboards being piloted through the streets with ease by a heavily bearded salesman) before finally diving carefully into the Nervocelambran spaceport, which looked like it had been recently remodeled. The ship shuddered its last breath and expelled a large amount of steam from its core as it slid into the embrace of the extending docks. "_All passengers please head to the starboard hatch; I'll be there momentarily,_" Jack's voice echoed again.

Lyner turned expectantly to Shurelia. "Okay, fine! I'll lead you there," she said with an amused roll of the eyes. As the couple went off to find the gangplank hand in hand, Misha eyed them sadly. Did she really have any chance with the Knight at all? She wished she could read his mind, and see who he dreamed about at night…

* * *

Once all ten party members (including Yeeka) were assembled in the massive loading dock, Jack smirked and pressed a button on a remote control, which triggered ten white lockers behind them to simultaneously open.

"As you might know, the Nervocelambrans have giant atmospheric generators that keep the temperature a brisk zero degrees Celsius!" Jack said with a wink. "Now; humans are not designed to cope with this low of a temperature, so I have prepared a number of suits equipped with intense body heat generators for all of us." He looked down haphazardly and noticed Yeeka, who thought it was a good time to urinate on the shimmering tile. "Oh; dragon-butt here gets a clear plastic globe, with its own internal atmosphere."

"Wow Jack, that was so thoughtful of you!" Shurelia said with a pleased smile.

Jack got extremely turned on by this compliment, but hid it by stooping down to mop up Yeeka's mess.

Lyner was personally thrilled for the moment the airlock would open; he hadn't explored a new area for years. He looked at Aurica and noticed that she still looked a little forlorn. "Hey," he said, putting his hyperactive hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Aurica?"

She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with a hint of tears. "Y-yeah, I'm fine Lyner…I just wish I had more time…"

He cocked his eyebrow at this, but decided not to press her about it. Squeezing her shoulder in what he hoped she would take comfort in, he said, "Let's go put that stuff on, ok?"

She nodded, and they both went back to the suits Jack had prepared for them. Lyner noticed that Misha had already put her costume on. It looked like a wooly, extremely poofy brown Eskimo suit.

"How do I look? Sexy, right?" The muffled Misha laughed, and tried to spin around gracefully on her toe, but was so clumsy that she topped over onto her side, arms flailing.

Lyner laughed as he slid a leg into his pant legs. "Yeah, you look completely erotic!" As he looked past Aurica to his left, he saw Jack showing Shurelia how to stuff Yeeka into its ball, after which Shurelia hugged him quickly. When they pulled apart, Jack surfaced with an extremely large grin on his face, causing Lyner to worry a little about what was going on over there.

"Hey Lyner, could you help me up?" Misha asked, apparently quite unable to get off the floor.

He laughed and strode over to help the bumbling girl up, gripping her hand warmly as he did so. "So, is zero degrees pretty cold then, I guess?" Lyner wondered.

"Yep!" Misha said proudly. "But not as cold as my Glacial Ball!"

A couple minutes later, everyone was adequately prepped for the frozen oasis, so Jack strode over to a toggle next to the large shutter blocking the party's exit. He thought for a moment and then clapped his fingers once. Near a few oil drums, Benedict stood up, binoculars attached to his eyes and a BBQ Soda in one hand. Lyner was astonished; once again the stout man had escaped his notice. He also vaguely wondered why he had been observing the party through binoculars, but decided not to think overmuch on it. "Go grab Krusche for me, okay?" Jack commanded his servant.

"Sure!" Benedict said, taking a lustful bite at the curl of charred meat on the can of soda. Aurica beamed at his apparent love of her product.

"Brace yourselves, everyone!" Jack said, and then pulled down the heavy toggle with his strong steel grip.

An avalanche of cold seemed to invade the ship as the shutter opened to broad daylight, so everyone turned on their body heaters. Jack signaled for the party to follow him out onto the gangplank, and they did so. An entire crowd of Nervocelambrans had gathered at the landing site for the _Granny_, many of them with blue flags embroidered with Jack's face on them. Lyner suddenly thought he understood why Jack seemed so keen on the place. He also noted that the people, (although having varying shades of blue skin) were wearing very little clothing at all. In fact, most men were dressed in nothing but a brightly-dyed loincloth. The people all seemed to be incredibly-built, most rivaling Lyner himself for muscular proportions.

Jack walked proudly down into the loudly-cheering populace, where an impressive-looking tall man with flowing ice-blue hair stepped forward to greet him.

"Hey buddy," Jack said, clasping the Nervocelambran's arm and pulling the other man into a tight hug.

"Jack, Jack! What do you think of the airport we built for you?"

"Oh, it's GREAT!" the treasure hunter said, his eyes glossing over as he surveyed the gigantic domed ceiling.

Lyner looked up and jumped a little; there were hundreds of other Nervocelambrans looking down at Jack from numerous balconies throughout the huge building. He wondered if the others felt as self-conscious as he did.

"And how are you doing, old friend?" the man asked, taking Jack's arm and leading him into the crowd. The others in the group looked to Lyner for direction, and he just shrugged and strode into the mob of people, his large, armored shoulders acting as effective crowd-clearers.

"Not so good, Reva." Jack said, shaking his head sadly. "My wife has been gravely injured in the brain, and so we need to do another transplant, I'm afraid…"

Lyner blinked at Jack's usage of the word 'wife.' "Well, I'm afraid that's a problem," Reva said sadly.

"What, why?" Jack said seriously. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'll give up more this time; I'll do whatever it takes!"

"I admire your loyalty, Jack-kun, but I'm afraid this time it's not a question of how many organs we need, but…well, I'd rather speak on it in private, since the public doesn't yet know of it," Reva said, gesturing at the populace about him.

"…Alright," Jack said darkly.

"However, we will take the body into safekeeping, if that is what you desire?"

"Yes, please," Jack said, removing his green hat and bowing deeply in gratitude. "My assistant is fetching it right now; he should be out of the ship in a few minutes."

"Very well, sir," Reva said. "We have prepared five suites in the Eranguartd Hotel for you. Is this satisfactory?"

"Indeed!" Jack answered, his eyes lighting up with the glow of a greedy celebrity.

"Right then. I will meet up with you there in three hours to discourse on the subject of Krusche," Reva said, swirling away so that his mane of hair whipped like an icy wind.

* * *

(_An Hour Later_)

With no small amount of assistance from Jack, the party managed to escape the confines of the marble airport. They were now waddling through the rainforest-like streets, which were oddly enclosed on either side by large, ominous skyscrapers and space needles.

"Oooh, this place is so surreal!" Shurelia breathed, her voice visible in the frozen air.

Misha waddled up to the leaders of the tour, Jack and Lyner. "Hey, so we have five rooms? Who's staying with who?" she asked, her eyes locked on Lyner the entire time.

Lyner laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. He knew that if he didn't say he was staying with Shurelia, he would likely end up with a broken nose, so he was about to say as much when Jack unexpectedly spoke up.

"Let's have a contest!" he said with a hint of a grin. A wide-eyed Misha cocked her head. "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!" Jack said, risking a swig of sake. "Whichever girl wins, they get the room with Lyner!"

This caused Lyner to blush and start admiring the lovely space-age architecture past the lush forest canopy.

After hearing the words "contest" and "Lyner" used in close proximity to each other, Shurelia and Aurica waddled up in their overlarge outfits to hear Jack's proposition.

"Sounds good!" Shurelia said confidently.

"Yeah, what do we have to do?" Aurica said, excitement emanating from her persona.

"Well, since you asked," Jack began promisingly, and then broke off, pondering what an appropriate contest might be. Lyner braced for the worst. "Okay, I've got it!" The girls leaned in eagerly, their cutely enthusiastic faces the only part of them visible under the heavy furs Jack had offered them. "Whichever girl can get a hoverboard first and then bring it back to Lyner wins!" the blue-haired eccentric declared.

"OOH!" the girls said simultaneously, and then immediately began plotting.

"Wait, wait," Lyner interjected. "I haven't agreed to any of this!"

"Oh, my obtuse apologies!" Jack said with a wide sweep of his arm, and then he suddenly collapsed, apparently having digested too much sake.

The heroes all looked down at the body. "…well, alcohol-induced or not, it was actually a good idea," Radolf said.

Everyone looked at him like he had suddenly grown an extra head. Radolf winked slyly at Aurica, who grinned back. Finally, here was a chance for her to get somewhere with her beloved.

Lyner stoked the bridge of his nose in mental frustration. Why was it always him? Why couldn't it ever be, say, Radolf for a day? Then, Lyner thought about it and decided that he would actually be furious of all three girls wanted Radolf. 'Besides,' Lyner thought to himself, 'Shurelia seems to think it's alright. Plus, whoever wins, I win, because I do want to talk to EACH of them, alone."

It was along the lines of such thought that Lyner shook his head in relent and said, "Alright, go for it, girls!"

All three Reyvateils squealed with vigorous fervor and ran off in separate directions into the green forest to enact their various ploys to get a hoverboard for Lyner.

A/N: Hey, this chapter was intended to be a lot longer, so I ended up just splitting it in half…if it feels a little half-baked, that's probably why :D anyways, please read and review, it would mean a lot to me


	10. Lovebirds

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 9: Lovebirds

"I'm worried about them," Lyner said concernedly as he watched his three fawning admirers run out into the crowd.

"Yes, it IS a pretty strange place, isn't it?" Ayatane said, annoyedly brushing off a giant orange tree tarantula that fell on his armor. "And it's far too cold for my liking."

"No, that's not what I meant," Lyner grimaced. "I mean, how far are they willing to GO to get me to like them? Because, you know… shouldn't they realize that the more pressure they put on me, the less likely I'll wanna go out with them? Not to mention all the dangers that come with obsessions."

Ayatane shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I see your point… I mean, if Mir suddenly started going all psycho on all my other admirers, I would start to get annoyed with her myself."

"Exactly!" Lyner said, happy that his case was accepted. He thought for a moment. "Well, I don't see any reason for any of _you_ to remain out here in the cold," he addressed the rest of the party. "Why don't you take Jack and Krusche to the hotel, and then me and the girls will meet you there once we regroup."

"Alright," Radolf said, as Vincent nodded. Ayatane and Radolf then hoisted Jack up over their shoulders while Vincent pushed the dolly upon which Krusche's carbon-freeze chamber was propped. Mahine meanwhile took the lead, using a map to direct the group.

Lyner waved them goodbye, and then returned his eyes to the sky to wait for his Reyvateils to come back…however much he didn't want to admit it, he was fairly curious to see who could pull off a victory.

* * *

(_Misha)_

'If I can just show myself in Y, this'll be a snap!' Misha thought confidently to herself. However, there were two problems: one, in the undertoe of the giant rainforests that dwelled in the middle of the street, she couldn't achieve much visibility to board-riding passerby; two, if she transformed into Y (which was little more than nudity) she would surely fall unconscious from the extreme cold.

Misha sighed and looked up at the treeline and the skyscrapers beyond. IF she could get on top of a skyscraper, she would be able to snag a guy's attention easily, but by the time she rode an elevator to the roof of one of those monoliths, both Aurica and Shurelia would probably have gotten boards by then.

Sighing, Misha leapt forward towards a tree branch, in the hopes of beginning to ascend to the forest canopy. However, she was off by a lot, having forgotten to factor in her additional weight with the fur that Jack had provided for her. So, she fell flat on her face, cursing her abhorrent physical abilities. Gritting her teeth and picturing Lyner's toned body encompassing hers in bed, she forced herself off the ground with a grunt and grabbed the branch tightly, pulling herself upon it. It was with such strain that she climbed (very, very slowly but determinedly) towards the treeline high above her.

To her surprise, Misha eventually pulled herself onto a net made out of vegetation about halfway up from the floor. Wide-eyed, she tested it with a couple of thrusts, and then deemed it secure enough for a break.

Suffering from an intense bout of breathlessness, Misha leaned against the mossy tree beside her and began to massage herself in order to reinvigorate herself for the second arm of her climb.

When she opened her eyes soon after she began to tend to her readiness, she saw to her excitement that nude indigo men were flying up and down the street on boards all around her. Hoping that this would be high enough up for them to notice her, she quickly chose a song to perform to keep herself warm. Her only fire-based song was Meteor, which was a little ridiculous looking (being in the form of a giant frying pan), but such was a little price to pay for getting Lyner for the night (and more importantly, getting him away from the other girls).

So, she opened her mouth, and tried to sing…but to no avail. 'Grr! Reyvateils weren't meant for this sort of physical exertion!' the Star Singer thought to herself. Misha then calmed her nerves, closed her eyes, and then drew upon a familiar muse for her songcraft… only an updated version, since she had kissed him again. She fantasized about wrapping her tongue around Lyner's for a few minutes, and then opened her mouth, the frantic Chorus from Meteor flying out of her throat. She didn't notice, but all of the surrounding men on boards turned to survey her.

As soon as the spell was completed, Misha looked below her feet, signifying to the song where she would like Meteor to be placed. In two seconds, a giant frying pan appeared beneath her, sizzling with intense flames.

'Finally!' Misha thought to herself, ending her song, and concentrating on stripping off her Eskimo outfit and throwing it away towards the jungle floor as sensually as such a ridiculous act could possibly be. Once her well-shaped form emerged in the guise of her Shinobi outfit, she took a deep breath and spun around, donning Y (which, for those of you who didn't play the game, is a dress shirt. JUST a dress shirt).

Looking around, she realized that the entire jungle around her had caught on fire. She inwardly jumped for joy at the blatant signal, but feigned utter terror. "HELP! I'M BURNING! SAVE ME!" Misha screamed girlishly, diving down into the warm clutches of the frying plan and rolling around, sucking up as much heat as she could to stay warm. The heat of the spell and the cold produced by the city's atmospheric generators fortunately seemed to be cancelling each other out, and so she continued to log roll along the circumference of the giant pan in the bliss of mediocrity.

In no time, an attractive purple-skinned young man rode his airboard over to Misha, urgency evident in his eyes. Misha breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh! Please save me, good sir! Be my knight in shining armor!"

The guy looked apprehensively at the flames, but then decided to dive through them, the heat charring his shimmering flesh as he swooped in to save her. In an instant, Misha felt a very tough, muscled arm grab her around the torso and lift her into the air, her dress shirt flying wildly about her.

"Oh, thank you very much, sir!" Misha said cheerily, holding her shirt closed, and then suddenly kneed him in the balls (In the hope that he would fall off). Unfortunately, the man's crotch seemed to be made out of a substance harder than diamond, so her knee ended up getting the most damaged. Misha buckled over, holding her exploded kneecap in pain, while the heroic surfboarder annoyedly shoved her off his board.

Another thing Misha forgot about was the cold. As she smacked into each tree on the way back down to the forest floor, she quickly lost consciousness due to the extreme cold of the island. Despair engulfed her mind as her mind slowly turned off; not because of her current state, but because one of the other girls would get Lyner tonight…

* * *

(_Shurelia_)

Shurelia waddled like some ridiculous overgrown teddy bear down the jungly street to the left of Lyner's location. Happy for this opportunity to show Lyner how much she loved him, she vowed on her life that she would win this competition.

Looking around and biting her lip, she decided that the narrow sidewalks would make good meeting grounds with the board-donned youth of Nervocelambra, so she somewhat drunkedly waved the various vines and branches out of her way and stumbled out onto the pavement.

'Whew,' Shurelia thought inwardly. 'I can appreciate the need for culture, but this a bit much!'

She looked down at her Eskimo suit with disgust. Vaguely wondering whether Misha or Aurica had found some sensual way to wear it, Shurelia marched purposefully down the sidewalk, hoping she would soon come across a boarder. She had no idea whatsoever how a girl was supposed to "act sexy," but apparently Lyner found something about her attractive, so she had never had to worry about it before. 'Is that it, maybe?' Shurelia wondered. 'That I'm too innocent to know how to act sexy? Maybe that's why Lyner likes me the best…'

Shurelia was pondering these thoughts when she suddenly bumped into a large, middle-aged man with turquoise-colored gem skin. "Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry!" the sex-crazed Tower Administrator managed to squeak out in surprise.

The boarder shook his hot pink locks with a grin, saying, "Think nothing of it." He then chuckled (probably at her attire) and started to walked off.

Shurelia quickly summoned up a hearty dose of courage and said, "Em, sir?" The man turned to regard her with a cocked eyebrow. Shurelia took a deep breath and continued, "I'll do anything… and I mean ANYthing you want to prove to you I'm worthy of that board!" she declared, pointing at it.

The man stalked over to her and surveyed her dark-skinned face intently. Shurelia inwardly winced, knowing those words didn't exactly come out how she intended them to, but kept her face stoically intense on the man nonetheless.

Shrugging, the boarder clasped both hands behind his back and said, "Okay, we'll have a little contest…of HISTORY," he said, his face contorting into a disturbing smirk.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Shurelia threw on a genuine grin. At least she could count on her brilliance in times of need such as these! "Alright, have at me!" she said, spreading her legs in order to get into a more relaxed position.

The man chewed on his thumbnail in consideration, and then said, "Well then, tell me about the history of ballet."

Shurelia momentarily froze; she forgot that her records only indicated those histories of outer lands that were once a part of Ar Tonelico. Nervocelambra was an island far, far to the east, and although she had heard a brief report from Krusche on the matter once, Shurelia hadn't been really listening, because her mind had been on the tall, extremely sexy blonde knight that had been standing next to her…

But how much did this guy know, anyway? Shurelia decided inwardly that a common surfer like this man couldn't know that much about the annals of history, so she decided to BS an answer with the hope of getting away with it.

"Well, the way I understand it, ballet found its roots in the frost-bitten mountains of Medieval Novascocia in the year 547. When a couple of chicken salesmen from the nearby island nation-state of Binladen were brought in to the Queen of Novascocia for disruption, they demonstrated some moves that they had crafted while in a drunken stupor. These twirly moves rather suited the Queen's fancy, so it turned out," Shurelia explained, attempting to spin on one foot to illustrate, but failed miserably, collapsing on the icy sidewalk. The man grinned and helped her up, beckoning for her to continue.

"The Queen then had her assistants round out the techniques a little, after which she introduced it to the citizenry of Novascocia as the Kingdom's official aerobic exercise, which was to be performed by all pregnant women whenever they were at home," Shurelia said very seriously, hoping that the surfer's chuckles were a good sign. "Much later, famous composers noticed that the dance steps actually went quite well with classical music, and so combined them onstage, thus making the first fusion of modern music with modern dance steps," Shurelia finished, quite pleased with her work.

"Nice work," the boarder said, smiling at her. "But I don't really like the way you said that you are, uh, how did it go? Oh yes, "WORTHY OF MY BOARD." No, I don't like that at all, miss," he said very seriously, and then smacked her extremely hard with the board across the face, shredding the skin on the left side. Shurelia let out a small scream before she collapsed, quite unconscious, onto the concrete.

* * *

(_Aurica_)

"Yes, a contest! I'm gonna win this one!" Aurica hooted out once she was out of hearing range. For one thing, Aurica was the only Reyvateil on the team with any sort of physical fitness. For another, she had a secret plan (that she hoped would work).

Aurica was still wearing the enchanted armor Seraph underneath her layers of seal fat that Jack had bestowed upon her, and she had always suspected that the wings on her suit could perform flight, at least to a miniature degree.

She loosened her cover-up a little and let it down just a little in order to expose her broad wings (her skin began to sting with frostbite immediately). Taking a deep breath, Aurica turned her adorable gaze up to the orange-tinted sky, concentrating on taking flight as if it were the only thing she desired. Suddenly (and to her relief), Aurica suddenly began floating into the air. Warmth flooded her persona from the now-lit armor, which seemed to be acting intelligently to protect its wearer. The suit got so hot, in fact, that her unbecoming cover-up burned to the ground. She looked down and grinned savagely at it, hoping that Lyner didn't think she looked like a troll while he saw her in it.

Bringing her head back into the game, Aurica saw quite a few boarders flying above her. "Up!" Aurica commanded aloud, but nothing happened. "Stupid armor! Alright then…" Aurica then scrunched up her body in the flexible suit, preparing to dive upwards. As she launched forward, pushing with every fiber in her body, the suit suddenly took over, causing her to rocket upwards with terrifying speed.

Aurica squawked in surprise and looked behind her to see what was propelling her. To her astonishment, her beautiful wings were flapping very quickly, turning a neon yellow from the air friction.

Realizing that she should probably be looking where she was flying, Aurica turned around just in time to notice that she was heading straight for a large building. She braced for impact, and instead of crashing into it she ricocheted off in a random direction, bouncing instead into an innocent boarder who happened to be going by.

"Hey, watch it guy!" the dude said, gesturing rudely at her and then turning to continue his trek across Nervocelambra.

"Um, _guy_?" Aurica growled in irritation. He thought she was a guy, did he? Well, she would show him! She lowered her hand to her hip, and Seraph's unused sword was still there, as she suspected. Aurica drew it from its sheath, and it glowed a brilliant jade. She gaped at it, and told herself she would have to show it to Lyner later. Maybe it would actually make him like her a little.

Thinking fast, for the boarder was getting away, Aurica sang a double-time version of My Hero, and immediately a large nebula of Don Leons appeared behind her (each one riding on various floating mechanisms, such as hot air balloons, pet geese, and helicopter hats). The general, driving a flaming sky horse, rode up in front of her.

"Don Leon!" she greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Miss Aurica, how can we be of service today?" the stuffed lion asked his mistress.

"Go, distract that boarder over there!" Aurica commanded ferociously, pointing at the rapidly escaping punk.

"Right away!" Don Leon said with a quick bow. "CHAARRRRGGGEE!!" he commanded, and the entire yellow-orange cloud of Don Leons drew rapiers and gave pursuit after the Nervocelambran.

Aurica made chase too, taking the long way around the skyscraper that she had bounced off of earlier. By the time she went around and found the dude, he was being roughly pummeled by the army. They didn't seem to be doing any damage, but their persistence had stopped him in his tracks.

"(#ed…lions!!" the dude yelled, trying in vain to bat the flying Don Leons off as if they were pesky flies.

Aurica laughed evilly and flew straight forward, holding her sword behind her for as big a slash as she could muster. When she finally arrived at his location, she brought the blessed sword down hard on his face.

No cut was made, but it did make him flinch backwards considerably. That was all she needed. "PUSH HIM OFF!" she screamed at her troops, and they all snickered and moved in for the kill. The entire cloud gave one solid push at the man, and he stumbled backwards again, but managed to hold on with two of his toes on his left foot. Aurica landed on the board. "Impressive," she told the advanced boarder.

"Wh-why are you doing this?" the Nervocelambran exclaimed.

Aurica made her suit transparent around her chest, revealing her hot figure. The man's eyes widened. "Holy $, you're a chick!" he said.

"Yep," Aurica assented, nodding curtly. She then proceeded to swing down on his toes with her lightning-charged blade, this time cutting them cleanly off.

"NoooooooO!" he cried, plummeting like a rock towards the streets below. The Don Leons roared and made chase after him. Aurica giggled and attempted to connect her mind to the board like she had with her armor, and it worked. Now able to fly fairly accurately, Aurica guided it swiftly down towards Lyner.

As she neared her beloved however, Aurica realized that she had no idea how to stop it. "Arrrggh!" She screamed, and dove her board straight into the grass next to him, while the momentum scooted her on her butt through the shrubbery straight into a tree trunk, making an impressive dent in it. "Ouuucchh…" she moaned from inside the tree.

In no time, Lyner managed to fish her out, pulling her by the back of her suit. "Ohhh, Lyner…" Aurica said, staring lustfully up into his face, before shaking herself at her stupor from being so close to him. "Um, am I the first one back?"

He nodded, "Yeah, you were pretty fast! Good job."

"Yeah, I guess," she said quite bashfully, suddenly thinking about things a Trinity Divinator probably shouldn't be.

Lyner looked down at her now ferociously-blushing face and must have read her mind a little, since he stooped down next to her and leaned in to kiss her. Aurica was already quite turned on, so she kissed him very passionately back, moaning as she did so. As Lyner proceeded to massage her entire mouth with his tongue, Aurica's pleasure grew and grew, almost to the breaking point. She tried to make each lick of her tongue be a symbol of all the love she felt for him.

After he resurfaced for air, he pulled away. "It's kind of hard to hold you when you're wearing a suit of armor," he commented wryly.

"Sorry," she said breathlessly. "It keeps me warm!"

"No, no, no, I actually like it," Lyner said nervously. "It, um…it looks cute on you." He closed his eyes, trying to get a reign on his nerves. They really were an awkward couple.

"Well, I'm glad you won," the knight finally said. "I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Ooh, me too!" Aurica agreed, finally sitting up and squatting next to him. She almost said "For the last fifteen years!" but decided that it was probably in her better interest not to.

"Excuse me, sir and madam?" a stranger said, approaching the couple sitting on the grass.

"Oh, yes?" Lyner said, standing up with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, I'm only bothering you because you're an outsider, but, uh… a body has been found down this street, and she's an outsider also!" the fit purple-skinned man said.

"Excuse me!" a woman wearing just an orange thong said, running from another direction. Lyner, who found nudity rather vulgar, looked at a large yellow monkey in the tree branches above them. Aurica was angry at the woman at first, but then calmed herself, noticing Lyner's reaction. "I found a body on my side too!" the woman informed them, looking at them weirdly for their strange reactions.

"Shurelia and Misha?" Lyner asked Aurica, who nodded. "Thanks for the tip, you guys," Lyner said, nodding to the two informants, and he and Aurica set off to find their Reyvateil companions.

"I hope they're alright!" Aurica said as they rushed through the frigid cold. It turned out to be very much the opposite case, as they found when they reached each body. Shurelia was missing half of the flesh on her face but appeared to be still warm, while Misha had acquired quite a few abrasions on her flesh, as well as being frozen solid. She was also completely naked, which led Lyner to raise a gloved hand to block out the sight, much to Aurica's joy. "Okay, well I guess you're going to be carrying Misha?" he asked Aurica, who nodded profusely. She wanted him groping as few women as possible, naturally.

"Sure, I probably couldn't carry Shurelia with all those furs anyway!"

"I'll meet you back at the main square then," Lyner said, turning tail and running back the other way. "Dammit, I was worried something like this would happen!"

* * *

(_Some time later_)

After Lyner and Aurica stopped SEVERAL times to ask the local populace the whereabouts of the hotel they were to be staying at, the two finally brought their unconscious companions safely inside.

"Oh, good!" the fur-covered Radolf said, getting up from a chair. Apparently, he alone had been worried about their return.

"Radolf!" Lyner said. "I can't tell you what a relief it is to see you!"

"Yeah, we've been looking for this place for AGES!" Aurica said, heaping Misha's catatonic body onto a chair with a grunt. Taking a look at Radolf's furs, she said, "Um, I take it this place isn't heated?"

"Actually, the rooms are!" he said enthusiastically. "I cranked up the heat especially for Lyner and the victor…and these two's room, also, although it looks like they'll be spending the night in the infirmary." Radolf muttered, gesturing towards Shurelia and Misha. (His eyes lingered interestedly over Misha's body, and Aurica noticed this)

"Sweet, where's our room?" Lyner exclaimed, carefully setting Shurelia on the ground, deciding to trust the medical staff of Nervocelambra to heal her and Misha.

"Well, it's 231," Radolf said, stepping forward and handing Lyner the room key. "Now go on up there, I'll take care of the girls!"

As Lyner turned the corner, Aurica nudged him. "I wonder what he means, 'take care of them?'" she said with a giggle.

Lyner cocked an eyebrow. "……………………………………………….What?"

Aurica snorted and shook her head, her locks shimmering beautifully as she did so. "Never mind, let's just check out our room already!" She placed an arm on his shoulder. "Besides, I-I can't wait to get this off of you!" she said, her heart fluttering a little.

Lyner blushed and took her hand as they walked upstairs.

* * *

A/N: Hooray! I hope you all enjoyed this competion as much as I did. More impromptu jazz to come throughout, but for now back to the story!

But seriously y'all, press that thistle-colored Review button! That's the stuff that keeps me going!


	11. Forgetting Our Problems

A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry for the long update! I'll try my hardest to update again tomorrow, but I have a speech on the Beatles I have to give the day afterwards. So… I dunno if it'll be possible or not.

Anyway, the reason THIS update took so long was because I had to flush a large amount of goofiness out of my system via The Legend of The Conception of Rhode Island. Check it out if you like, it's on my profile.

I hope you're enjoying this, cuz I sure am! Please, PLEASE give me any feedback you can think of!

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 10: Forgetting Our Problems

When Lyner opened the door to his room, he felt a flood of incredibly warm air grace his face. Breathing it in, Lyner hurriedly leapt in and struggled out of his furs.

"Is it safe?" Aurica said nervously, still dressed in her magical Seraphim armor, closing the door behind them. The room was beautiful; the ceiling was adorned with opals, and the floor was made of a lucid blue material, and seemed immeasurably deep beneath them.

"Uh, yeah," Lyner said, wondering why she would ask such a thing.

"I just don't want another Misha casualty to happen," Aurica explained with a worried look on her face.

"Oh, right." Lyner paused, and then his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh my god! I gotta go to the bathroom!" he hollered, and then scooted into the pristine bathroom, shutting the door behind him violently.

As more loud noises erupted from the confines of the bathroom, Aurica sat on a lovely velvet chair and pondered the direction her life had suddenly taken. Two days ago, she couldn't have guessed she would be on an otherwordly island she'd never seen before, and she certainly wouldn't have thought she would be spending a night (for the first time) with her beloved Lyner, whom she hadn't seen in over a decade. She massaged her neck, for she had a crick in it, when a towel-wearing Lyner suddenly exploded out of the bathroom, his hair sopping wet and dangling down to his shoulders.

"Hey!" he said in surprise, seeming to have forgotten he had company for the night. "I decided to take a shower too!"

"I love you Lyner!" Aurica said to him suddenly. There, she said it; now her life was complete. It didn't matter what he said now, so long as he knew.

Lyner blinked at this random comment. "H-hey, I love you too Aurica!" he said with a smile, and pulled her into a hug (which wasn't easy with her armor on). He privately thought to himself 'as well as Misha and Shurelia…'

She pulled away with a warm smile and surveyed their room. Like all suites, it was divided in two down the middle; if they were to sleep in separate beds, it would be like the other person wasn't there at all.

"So…?" she began slowly.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"…Which bed do you want?" she asked, testing to see if he really did love her enough.

Lyner paused, his bright brown eyes taking in their luxurious suite. Then he turned to her and said, "Whichever one has you in it!"

Inwardly, Aurica screamed 'Yessssss!' "Um…ah, so what do you want me to wear?" she asked, growing weary of carrying such bulky armor.

"Oh, uh…whatever makes you the most comfortable!" Lyner offered, jumping onto the nearest bed and lying down on it.

"Well…for the MOST comfort, there's only one costume," Aurica said slyly, whirling around on the spot to clothe herself in Bubble Passion.

Lyner blushed, and then got under the covers, holding them open for her to get in too. Aurica was so excited that she half expected her heart to burst. Just as she was about to slip in next to her beloved, a knock came at the door.

* * *

(_In Jack and Vincent's Room)_

Vincent and the now-sobered-up Jack heaved their luggage onto the brilliantly-lit floor. "Wow! This place is truly brilliant," Vincent admitted. "And I've been to many foreign lands in my life."

Jack chuckled. "I doubt you've been to hardly as many as me," the gunman responded.

Vincent shrugged. "Perhaps. So who's staying with whom tonight?"

"Well, Lyner evidently won a night with Aurica, so they're together; Shurelia and Misha are together, I'm sure the gossip will fly there, heh; Radolf and that creepy Ayatane dude are together, I don't envy Radolf at all, haha; and Mahine is in the remaining room, all by herself."

"I see. Well, I'm glad no one else is throwing themselves at her," Vincent said with a smirk. "So, Shurelia and Misha have already recovered then?

"What? Well I dunno, that's just the room listing Radolf told me a while ago. I hope they're alright, actually. It would be a shame to make such fine titties go to waste," Jack said with a wistful look in his eye.

Vincent shook his head, glad that he didn't live in Jack's perverted circus of a mind. Suddenly, someone knocked at their door. "I'll get it," Vincent announced, and strode over to it.

Standing in the doorway was the very white-haired Nervocelambran Jack had talked to earlier that day. "Hi…Reva, was it?" Vincent asked.

Reva bowed. "Yes…I wanted to take Jack to Orion Tower to discuss a matter of dire importance. I trust he is conscious now?"

Vincent nodded and grinned. "He is. Would it be alright if I came, too? The outcome of our mission is terribly important to me as well."

"Of course. A friend of Jack is a friend of mine as well."

Jack appeared next to Vincent. "Hey Reva! I'm set to go now, if you want."

"Certainly. Do come this way, gentlemen."

Vincent touched Jack on the arm. "Wait – shouldn't we ask Lyner if he wants to come too?"

Jack shook his long blue locks. "No way! He's probably on Aurica like a meteor makes a meteor crater as we speak!"

Vincent looked down at the ground and noticed that a large pentagram had appeared beneath the three of them. "Um…what's this??" he asked, a shade of fear betraying his voice.

"Oh, just a teleportation beam," Jack said with a knowing smirk.

Vincent griamaced; he had half a mind to just jump out, but he fantasized instead about Mahine to keep himself courageous.

"Here we go," Reva said softly. "To Orion Tower!" A molecular beam of bright lilac energy erupted from the floor, and Vincent felt himself being sucked into the very framework of the hotel at light speed. He would have unleashed a string of curses, but the phenomenal sensations freaking out his mind at the moment overloaded his speech capabilities at the moment. Somehow, he felt himself being pulled out of the hotel's magical architecture and into the very heartbeat of Nervocelambra. In the distance, he saw the magical signature 'Agora,' which he knew had to represent their massive destination.

* * *

(_Back in Lyner's room_) 

Aurica groaned and walked over to answer the door (but not before checking to make sure her scanty towel was covering everything up). Lyner pulled on a pair of pants before moving to join her as well. When he arrived, he saw her being handed two recipe cards by an exceptionally cute Nervocelambran female.

"Oh, hello Mr. Barsett!" she said quietly, staring at his rock-hard chest to avoid looking at his towel. "The emergency room workers are out of some items they need to cure your friends."

"I see," Lyner said, crossing his arms, to distract her from lusting after his abs. Instead, she began lusting after his huge arm muscles.

When the girl discontinued speech, Aurica turned to him and explained, "They need us to Grathmeld these two things."

"Oh, alright, no problem," Lyner said. He was a master at Grathmelding, after all. He proceeded to close the door in the female attendant's face, tired of her checking him out. He looked down at the two cards that Aurica handed him; a Healy C and a Thermocore.

"Hey Aurica, do you want to make the Healy C?" he asked. "Don't worry, it's easy!"

She looked up at him worriedly, and walked towards him so that he could feel her warm chest on his. "I guess… but I've never Grathmelded before! It sounds really complicated."

"Oh, I'll walk you through it, don't worry," he said warmly. "It's a good skill to have, anyway." He gestured down to a workbench far down the suite that was highlighted by a fluorescent tangerine light. "Let's do it down there!"

"Okay, but I'm really nervous I'll mess it up," Aurica said shyly, walking in front of him to the workbench.

As she did so, Lyner risked a look down at her butt, and his pants tightened considerably at the sight. Exhaling slowly and analyzing a strange stone dragon statue in the middle of the room to calm himself, he thought in trepidation of the night looming in front of him. Aurica WAS apparently the only Reyvateil intelligent to get him a board, so he wanted to reward her, but he also didn't want to go too far and betray Shurelia. But WERE they still dating? Lyner didn't really know. He looked up to see Aurica looking back at him, checking him out, a little drool on her lips that refused to go away no matter how much she licked it. He laughed a little and walked up to her, wrapping his huge arm around her waist and leading her the table. Lyner could feel her rapid heartbeat even down there, so he knew her mind must be veering off on all sorts of unseemly pathways.

At the table, he guided Aurica through the basics of Grathmelding, even as he welded together the Thermocore that Misha needed. While he was waiting for a particular patch of steel to fuse together, he looked up at her through his dark goggles. "So, are you alright, Aurica? You seem a little… I dunno, distant these days."

Aurica sighed and heaved her shoulders. So something really was bothering her! "…Lyner, can I tell you something?"

"Of course, you tell me stuff all the time!" he said, grinning crazily.

"I know, but this is different; I don't want you to tell anyone," she whispered.

"Well, sure, shoot!"

Aurica sighed (again). "I don't really…know how to put this," the towel-clad lady said, staring out the window at the mystically-illuminated city. "Um, my days are numbered," she said, biting her lip.

"No!" Lyner said softly. He was unable to imagine any sort of life without Aurica in it. "…How much longer?"

"Ten more months, if I keep getting Diquility installed into me."

"Well, why is this happening?" he demanded. He felt as though one of the foundational pillars of his life had just been ripped out from underneath him.

Aurica glared at him for some reason. "It just happens, alright! Class D 3rd Generation Reyvateils just can't survive as long as other Reyvateils can. The Diquility agent can only prolong life for so long. We're only supposed to live for twenty years, you know," she said, turning her gaze back to the night city.

Lyner felt a terrible feeling well up in his throat, so he turned back to his craftsmanship to take his mind off it. "When was the last time you took Diquility?" he asked.

Aurica didn't answer, so Lyner looked up at her. "You've stopped, haven't you?"

The girl shrugged. "What's the point of living anymore? My life's been an utter waste of time, I've hated every second of it. I'll be glad once it's all over."

Lyner didn't know what to say; why did he always end up in this predicament? "Do you have a Diquility crystal with you?" he asked.

"So what if I do?" the increasingly moody Aurica countered.

Lyner abruptly got up from the table and went over to her things, fishing around until he found the crystal. Normally his notions of chivalry would halt him from going through a lady's purse, but, well… screw chivalry!

Finding the crystal he got up and saw that Aurica hadn't left her spot at the workbench, but had now turned to face him. "You're not giving that to me," she said with gritted teeth.

"Of course I'm not," Lyner said in a low voice, walking over to her with every intention of thrusting it in her neck.

"I don't want to live anymore," she said, looking at him sadly, pressed up against the window. "Look, I'll be making it easier on you; if I'm gone, you'll only have two girls to choose your life from!"

"You're wrong!" Lyner said. "It would kill me if you died!"

"Well I'm dying, ten months later OR tonight, so get used to it!"

Lyner breathed deeply, throwing a gloved hand back through his long blonde hair. 'This REALLY sucks. I feel like it's me dying here!' He stared into her beautiful eyes. "What would it take to get you to want to live another ten months?"

Aurica looked at the floor to her left. "Ten more months can't change a life of wasted time." She looked up at him. "Even if we got married and had, like, a kid, it wouldn't change the fact that I could've been sleeping with you for twenty years by then! And we barely ever got to know each other…" her voice trailed off.

He came up next to her. "Did you mean what you said about hating every moment of your life?"

"Yeah, I did," she said, looking at him with teary eyes. "Even the times I spent with you were empty, since I always came last after Shurelia and Misha."

Lyner's brow furrowed, and then he suddenly held her tight with one arm, and then swiftly opened the lips on her neck open, admitting the crystal to her biosphere.

As he slid it in, Aurica's eyes and mouth opened wide. "LYNER!! Stop ittt!" As he continued to slowly force it in while the inside half dissolved into her persona, her shoulders began to relax. She let out a moan and said, "Ohhh… on second thought, don't stop! Please, please, give it to me! Oh, it feels so GOOD!"

Lyner smirked a little as he felt her heartbeat flutter back into excited activity. "Do this to me every night from now on, okay?" she asked him, looking at him with red-rimmed turquoise eyes. "That'll make it worth it to keep on living."

"Of course I will!" he said, smiling as he continued to stuff the crystal into her neck.

"Promise?"

"I will. I wouldn't have it any other way," Lyner said, leaning in to kiss her. He then proceeded to continuously wrestle her tongue with his, taking every second in, until her tattoo finally finished devouring his entire crystal.

As the pain stopped, Aurica pulled away and breathed a moan of satisfaction. "THAT was good!"

"Aurica…you ARE a part of me and you always will be, never forget that. I'll be here every day for you for the rest of your life, alright?"

"Okay Lyner!" she said in satisfaction, and hugged him. Lyner hugged her as tightly as possible; if she really HAD hated every moment of her life up till now, he intended to make these last ten months be moments she could undeniably enjoy.

* * *

(_In Orion Tower_) 

Vincent finally erupted out of the magical highway into Orion Tower, Jack and Reva blasting out with him. "Jeez," Vincent moaned. "That was…an experience…"

Reva stood up immediately, illuminated by the bright white light emanating down from an enormous pentagram hanging from one side of the tower. "Now that we're alone, let's get down to business, Jack-kun." He turned around to see Jack struggling up, complaining aplenty. "The reason we can't heal Krusche using our standard brain-growing procedures, is the same reason half the city has no power and nearly all pterodon production is down."

"Which is??" Jack asked with a surprised look on his face.

Reva lowered his majestic head in mourning, his white hair appearing angelic in the mystic light. "The Severed Serpent has been stolen."

"The hell?!? Who would steal it? And, who COULD?" Jack exclaimed.

"Wait, wait…WHAT?! What is this 'Severed Serpent?'" Vincent asked of them, his eyebrow cocked.

"An ancient relic from the distant past," Reva explained. "Nervocelambran society originates from an entirely separate culture from your ancestors, the tower-builders. Even millions of years ago, our ancestors had technology far beyond your wildest dreams. Now, however, Nervocelambra is the only beacon of that culture left in the world, and the Severed Serpent is the only working item of technology from that age."

"As time went on, Nervocelambrans turned from technology to philosophy, and we became a deeply spiritual and meditative people. In a few centuries in this vein, our culture accidentally shunned into disrepair the fantastic knowledge of our forefathers, and all scientific thought was lost with it," the mage continued.

"This Severed Serpent is the exception," Jack put in. "Because of this, the modern-day Nervocelambrans drew up large beacons to collect the massive power output of the device when it is in use. In essence, the Severed Serpent is the battery of all Nervocelambran workings."

"What was its original purpose, millions of years ago?" Vincent asked.

"The _Rite of Slumber_," Reva explained. "When activated, the artifact is designed to accept two people into a separate dimension, where their only task is to get through alive. This state of being is traditionally called _The Rite of Slumber_. If they do so, legend has it that the participants will conform to a more complete state of being, one that is inside them, but only hidden by the walls we build up around ourselves." He lowered his head. "None, however, have ever made it through alive since we began using it as a power source."

"So you've been sacrificing people for the continuity of your society?" Vincent wondered.

"Pretty much, yeah," Jack said. "Now back to my question, though. How could anyone possibly get around the defenses you've put up around the Severed Serpent? And more importantly, who would do such a thing?"

"Can he be trusted?" Reva asked Jack, his eyes surveying the wide-eyed Vincent.

Jack stroked his beardless chin for a moment before answering, "I guess," surprising Vincent at his acceptance.

"Very well then," Reva exhaled. "What I'm about to tell you is the highest-kept secret in all Nervocelambra. There…is more beyond this island."

"What are you talking about?" Jack laughed. I've flown around these parts forever; there is NOTHING but air surrounding this city."

"That is what we want outsiders to think," Reva said with a mischievous grin. "Our entire society was instructed to hide this from you and all other explorers forever, but…this time we're desperate." He paused. "There is… a mystical barrier surrounding this island, and it blocks all outsiders from seeing or moving beyond it."

"And what, exactly, is so secret that you went to this great a length to disguise it?" Vincent asked.

"The Neutron Sea."

"The WHAT?!" Jack cried.

"Did you not think it strange that many of our populace have hardened discolored skin, Jack-kun? This is come from two years of intense meditation in the Neutron Sea, a rite of passage for most Nervocelambrans when they come of age. The radiation in the ocean of which I speak is so intense that it permanently alters the meditator's anatomy and biology. This provides them with the unopposably tough skin they have."

"Wow…so what you're saying is, the thieves came from somewhere, er…far across the Neutron Sea?" Jack asked, trying to make sense of Reva's ramblings.

"Yes, indeed," Reva said. "The army that attacked our city had one goal in mind, and that was to steal the Severed Serpent. These…men, if you could call them that, were covered with shaggy fur and all had two monstrous heads, one wicked and one carefree. We do not speak their name…"

"How did they break in? To steal the Serpent, I mean?" Vincent asked.

"Well, we were forced to give it to them, actually," Reva said sheepishly. "They were such fierce attackers that they leveled most of the city! We've been hard at work rebuilding and re-growing ever since. The airport that we named after you, Jack-kun, wasn't just randomly renovated; we were forced to rebuild it because they annihilated the other one. Turning it over was the only way to prevent further death and destruction at their monstrous hands."

"Oh, man!" Jack said with wide eyes. 'What could possibly have enough strength to demolish these people with diamond-hard skin?' Vincent wondered in fear. "So…in order to save Krusche… I'm guessing you need me to go get the serpent back?" Jack asked with a cringe.

The white-haired magician nodded. "That is our hope, and the reason for revealing this secret to you."

Jack bit his thumb in thought, and looked up at Vincent. "Damn, I wish Lyner were here," he muttered. Looking up at Reva, he said, "Alright, you got your team. We need to explore that area anyway, to search for a variety of monsters."

"Oh? And what monsters would you be interested in hunting?"

"The Quiad Reyvateils!" Vincent said excitedly. "Do you know anything about them?"

Reva cocked an eyebrow. "I have never heard of them; but then again, I had never heard of the brutes that leveled our city, either. Nervocelambra is a particularly isolated society."

"I see…"

"One thing I've been wondering though," Vincent said, "Is how we're going to travel through this 'Neutron Sea?'"

"On the _Granny_, of course!" Jack said proudly.

"Actually, Jack, we would ask you to leave both the _Granny_ and Krusche here in the city on your voyage; we cannot let large masses through the displacement barrier, only purely carbon-based life forms."

"Haha!" Vincent gloated, while Jack gave him his most annoyed look.

"But do not fear," Reva continued. "Neutrons are extremely fickle particles. The ooze can transfigure itself to whatever you desire it to be at a given time; if you step on it, it will support you, albeit squishily. If you dive into it, likewise, you'll be swallowed into it like an ocean. So, in a sense, your party can cross the sea however they wish." He looked out the windows of the spacious tower. "The sea is…continually expanding. Who knows what strange worlds it has reached now?"

"Great, so I guess we'll have to go back and tell the others this change of plans." Jack said.

"Yes, I'll accompany you," Reva said. He then muttered an incantation that brought the brilliant white pentagram back on the floor beneath the trio.

"Uh-oh, not this again!" Vincent complained, standing rigidly.

"Remember," Reva said, looking sternly at the two blue-haired men. "You MUST recover the artifact, for all of our society's sake."

Jack bowed in reverence. "You can count on us."

"Very well, off we go then!" Reva said with a smile, and Jack and Vincent screamed as they were slurped down into the subatomic highway intertwined throughout the city. Again.

A/N: Hooray! We'll get a lot more action here in the VERY near future! Please comment, thx!


	12. Sea Voyage

A/N: Hello everyone! This time I'm awarding an entire Lemon Meringue pie to anyone who wants to review!

Also, my Beatles speech went horribly, and I was momentarily suicidal afterwards. But I got over it with no small amount of Vault, yay!

I don't own anything, but you have to admit, it would be pretty cool if I did own something. Like, more than this cardboard box and newspaper I live in. Oh, and the laptop I'm writing on! XD

**Ar Tonelico**

_Rite of Slumber_

Chapter 11: Sea Voyage

Misha's eyes slowly fluttered open, and as soon as she realized she hadn't the slightest idea where she was, she jumped up in bed with a start. Looking around, she noticed Shurelia's dainty frame in bed next to her. Misha cocked an eyebrow. What the heck was she doing sleeping with the origin of all living Reyvateils? Not to mention her greatest rival for Lyner's affections, more importantly!

Slipping back into bed (here she realized she was wearing an unfamiliar set of lingerie) Misha proceeded to nudge Shurelia with her elbow. The Star Singer's eyes widened as the pillow-snuggling Tower Administrator moaned in dissent and said, "Oh Lyner! Oh that's it, baby! Go on, you can stick it in me, nowwww…" Here thankfully, her voice trailed off and she fell back into sleepy silence.

Misha angrily nudged her again. "Shurelia!" she hissed.

Shurelia rocketed out of her stupor. "Wh-what?!" She looked up at Misha. "…you're not Lyner!" she accused of the Reyvateil.

"…That is a true statement," Misha said with narrowed eyes. "Do you have any idea how we got here?"

Shurelia looked around and quickly surveyed their surroundings. "Wow, it's pretty in here! But, no; the last thing I remember, I…I think I got punched by some jerk of a Nervocelmabran. My mind's pretty fuzzy, though; I'm having trouble sorting out my memories from my dreams."

"Oh, really?" this last part happened to pique Misha's interest. "And what did you dream about?"

Shurelia felt her own perfectly-restored face daintily with her fair hand. "Nothing too interesting, Lyner was just installing in me!"

Misha exhaled in relief. "Well, I guess we should get going then, to see what's been happening since we've been out." She stood up and twirled around in order to don her standard attire.

"How can you have so much energy SO early in the morning?" Shurelia said with a long stretch, collapsing backwards in bed.

Misha sighed and vaulted across the bed to Shurelia's side, extending her hand to the other Reyvateil. "Come on, we should go, Lady Shurelia! We were both knocked out, so I'm sure they'll be worrying about us!"

Shurelia rolled her eyes and allowed herself to be helped up by Misha, albeit wavering on the spot.

Misha went over to the door (tripping once in the process) and opened it to check out her surroundings. She let out a small scream when Radolf was standing on the other side, apparently waiting for her.

"Ah, Misha, you're awake!" he said bracingly.

"Yeah, I'd think that would be pretty obvious," Misha commented. "How're you doing?"

"Well, just fine physically, but I'm actually BORED OUT OF MY MIND!" the bishop exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm SO sorry you've had to suffer while I slept in," Misha said with narrowed eyes. Radolf rather enjoyed the difference between the real Misha and how she acted around Lyner.

"Sleeping in for a week? That's pushing it!" he said with raised eyebrows.

"Wha-aat?" she crowed. Shurelia waddled over, still in her undergarments. Radolf immediately squawked and covered his eyes.

"Don't worry, I really don't care," the exhausted Shurelia consoled him, but he kept his eyes covered anyway.

"Um, so the whole team is ready to go," Radolf continued, looking a little ridiculous holding his hands over his eyes. "But we'll wait as long as you need to get ready. Would you like a tour of the hotel?"

"That'd be cool, I guess," Misha said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I love Nervocelambran architecture. It must have been so fun just to spend a whole week here!" Shurelia said with a yawn.

"Er, a whole week not being able to leave a hotel isn't exactly my cup of tea, but maybe it is yours," Radolf said with a smile. "Now, there should be a robe in your bathroom, if you'd like to accompany us."

"Oh, alright," Shurelia murmured and dazedly walked backwards into the bathroom (where a loud crash could be heard afterwards).

Misha walked out into the hallway. "Well it was sure nice of them to make everything room temperature for us here," she said.

Radolf nodded. "Apparently Jack has a significant amount of clout in Nervocelambran society."

"So where are we going now, anyway? Did Vincent get a lock on one of the orbs yet?"

"No," Radolf said. "But he and Jack just found out about some weird place called the Neutron Sea on the outskirts of town. We're gonna try looking there."

"Sweet," Misha said, walking past one of the rooms. Hearing sounds from inside, she paused and heard a familiar voice cry amidst giggles, "Oh, I'm sorry Lyner! I can't swallow that fast!"

She heard Lyner reassure her, "Don't worry Aurica, take your time. It's better if you savor the juicy flavor anyways."

Her eyes widening so much that Radolf was worried they would explode, she knocked on the door feverishly. "Hey guys, we're gonna leave for the Neutron Sea now!!"

"Wha-, Misha?" Lyner exclaimed, and she heard a bramble of footsteps race each other to the door. It opened to reveal both of Misha's teammates fully clothed, both holding a strange purple fruit. "You're alright!"

"Yeah…" Misha said as her heart rate returned to normal. "Wh-what were you guys doing in there?"

"We were racing to see who could eat Dracoberry Blossoms the fastest!" Aurica said cheerily, purple splattered across her face.

Lyner nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, since Aurica's dying, we're gonna make every day with her count!"

Immediately, Aurica backhanded him, hard across the face. "You weren't supposed to TELL everybody, you idiot!" she said with a big smile.

Lyner shrugged. "Not like they're not gonna find out anyway…"

"He also gave me slapping privileges," Aurica whispered secretly to Misha. "It makes me happy doing it."

Radolf beamed. He had never seen Aurica so pleased to be alive.

"So we're ready to leave now? Awesome!" Lyner cried, "I've been itching to get out of this stinking hotel!"

"Yeah! It's good to see you're alright, too, Misha," Aurca said warmly, making an attempt to wipe off the purple on her face, but failing miserably.

"I'll go tell Jack now!" Lyner exclaimed, and burst down the hallway to Jack and Vincent's room. Misha vaguely wondered what else she'd missed.

* * *

Within the hour, Reva mystically transported all ten team members and himself to a comparatively stark area of Nervocelambra. Lyner and the others all had to be dressed (once again) in the bulky furs that Jack had provided for them. They arrived (minus the good health of their stomachs) in front of a gigantic gate made of solid bronze. Looking up, Lyner could see a good 100 troops in gold armor gazing down at them. He supposed they had probably beefed up the guard supply since the previous attack on the city by the two-headed monsters Jack told him about.

Reva saluted a guard wearing a demonic winged suit of red armor and spoke a long mystical incantation. This guard nodded and signaled another Nervocelambran behind him who wore no armor. This man proceeded to (quite skillfully) use a massive wooden pulley to raise the sheer bronze wall in front of them, revealing what appeared to be a large expanse of the Sea of Death.

Lyner looked over to Shurelia, who was by this time much more awake. "How are you doing, darling?" he asked, putting his arm around her.

She curled into his grasp, deeply inhaling his scent. "Just fine. It's gonna be so awesome going on a real journey again!"

Lyner nodded, and looked forward out into the large orange abyss in front of them. Although he had fallen down large distances many times in his life, this particular chasm seemed especially vast to him. He felt that one could lose themselves just watching the swirling orange gases expand in every direction around them. Lyner was beginning to feel a little agoraphobic when suddenly the entrance to the expanse wavered a little, and it thankfully revealed itself to be just an illusion. A bubble seemed to be brewing on the shield membrane, when suddenly brilliant violet light shone forth from within. The entire team (besides Reva) shielded their eyes from the sudden visual assault from the hidden dimension. Lyner was the first to squint through and glimpse a wave-trodden landscape beyond the illusion of the Sea of Death.

"I'm afraid this is where we must part ways," Reva said, smiling at the heroes. "My people need my assistance in order to rebuild our delicate culture from the ashes."

Jack nodded. "I understand, my friend. Soon, my friends and I will return with the Severed Serpent."

"Then, may good Karma follow you wherever your journey takes you, whether it be in darkness or in light," the wise magician said, stepping back with his hand crossing his face in what Lyner supposed to be some sort of farewell gesture. Hoping he wouldn't look like an idiot, he returned it, to Reva's enthusiasm.

"Well guys, I guess this is it," Lyner said with a smile, his eyes darting to each of the faces of his rather large party. "We got lots of work to do, so let's get going!"

The party clamored with various cries of assention and Shurelia and Aurica both patted Lyner on the back meaningfully. Lyner took a deep breath, stared down the small bubble in the diffraction shield, and dashed through it.

* * *

On the other side, Lyner could do nothing but gape around himself. This world was formed from a landscape like none other he had seen; in fact it was quite like something out of a dream. All around him, gorgeous violet water was quite violently tossed about in all sorts of waves of monstrous shapes and proportions, all of which completely frozen in time. The night sky was evocative, being a dark purple with twinkling stars the color of pearls smiling down at him. As far as Lyner could see, this lifeless ocean tantrumed around him, frozen forever in its most violent of moments. Looking behind him, he saw that his entire party had followed him and were equally stunned with their newest obstacle.

Lyner experimentally jiggled the ground with his feet, and was surprised to see that it held (however gelatinously) just like Reva had promised.

"Well," Radolf said. "Ever seen anything like this, Jack?"

Wide-eyed, Jack shook his head. "This is easily the most messed-up thing I have ever laid eyes on."

"Really? Personally, I find it quite beautiful," Misha said breathlessly, her eyes twinkling like the stars.

Lyner just found it disturbing, but he dared not show it. How such a phenomenon as this could possibly occur he had no idea, but he supposed it was enacted by the ancient society that the Nervocelambrans had descended from. "Let's set out," he said bracingly, and winked at Ayatane, who looked especially ready to get going. Lyner whirled about, took a deep breath, and proceeded to trudge down what appeared to be one of the less treacherous drops in the extremely un-hiking-friendly terrain.

Their caravan featured Lyner and Ayatane way out in front; Aurica walked a short ways behind them, talking avidly to Jack about her time with Lyner over the last week; behind them Mahine and Vincent stalked on in stony silence; next came Misha and Shurelia, who were giggling about topics no one cared to know about save them; and lastly Radolf guarded the rear, with Yeeka proudly riding his shoulder (Radolf had taking a liking to the reptilian youngster in the week of doing absolutely nothing at the hotel).

It so happened that Vincent lazily looked to his left at one point to see a red-furred werewolf glaring at them with infinitesimally dark eyes. "Hey! Everybody! Check it out!" he announced to the group while unsheathing his crimson double-bladed sword. "Looks like something IS living in this sea!"

"Well, well," Lyner said from up ahead. "Let's introduce ourselves then, shall we?" He looked at Vincent meaningfully. This would prove a good primer to see Vincent's battling capability.

The young man nodded and literally slid down the wave into the valley containing the werewolf. As he approached the monster, he slashed in a corkscrew fashion with his blades, but the wolfman jumped high over him, dodging his attacks completely while Vincent kept sliding away, making him vulnerable. The wolf landed on the ground and used the resulting bounce to catapult himself directly at Vincent, his claws drawn.

Vincent managed to twirl himself around without slipping, and slashed vertically at the rapidly-approaching wolf, only to see his blade go through the monster as if it were made of thin air. "Oh…" Vincent was about to curse, but the wolf slashed from Vincent's face all the way down to his pelvis, displacing an alarming amount of blood in the process.

"Vincent!" Mahine screamed after her partner, and began to sing a healing song, using the harmonics that his slashes had provided them.

"Damn, we won't be able to hit him physically!" Lyner said, and unleashed a Shockwave at the monster while Jack fired a round out of his massive arm cannon. The wolfman disappeared in a blaze of black thunder. The two veterans nodded at each other with smug grins.

At that precise time, Lyner heard a very disturbing sound that echoed laughter. He looked upwards to locate its source, but wished he hadn't; there, looking down at the party on the five titanic tidal waves that overlooked their current situation was an entire army of real zombies, of a variety of shapes and builds.

"Alright, a challenge!" Ayatane said eagerly, crouching into a ready position.

"Shurelia, sing Blast Fill. Misha, sing Wo Ai Ni, and Aurica, sing Boe!" Lyner commanded with ease.

"Alright!" "Got it!" "Okay!" the various girls chimed, and all began to prepare their spells.

"Radolf, get the wave at 7 o'clock; Jack, mow down what you can out of 10 o'clock, and Ayatane, you're with me!" he commanded, and the party separated to complete their various tasks.

"How will we get up?" Lyner muttered to Ayatane, but the samurai had already jumped acrobatically into the air, and began to literally bounce up their wave with his Katana drawn. Lyner suddenly got an idea, and dove into the wave that Ayatane jumped onto. He was astonished when a familiar feeling of wetness enshrouded his being, and he quickly swam upwards in the radioactive water. As he neared the peak of the wave, he could see the herd of zombies beating at Ayatane, so he drew his massive sword.

As soon as Lyner reached the top, he let loose a muscular horizontal slash, decimating the enemy surrounding him, causing multiple black lightning clouds to fizzle about him. He continued fighting with a variety of slashes he had perfected while in the Soulspace, but was not hesitant to punch the cannibals that got to close for comfort. Within a matter of seconds, he and Ayatane cleared the first wave of the enemy.

"Shurelia! Now would be a good time for that spell!" he yelled.

"Okay!" he heard her flowery voice respond, which filled his chest with warmth.

"Well, let's go!" he muttered to Ayatane, and the two Knights of Elemia leapt with great vigor to the next wave, and began to unleash hell on that army as well. By this time, Jack had finished sniping the last of the zombies on his assigned wave, although Radolf looked like he was getting the snot beaten out of him by a rapidly-closing in flood of zombies.

"Misha! Aurica! Unleash your song –slash, hack, bash-, umm, your song in between the last wave and Radolf's! And Radolf, get yourself outta there!" Lyner screamed at the top of his lungs, while twirling around and splattering zombie guts all about him and Ayatane.

The girls activated their Red Magic as he commanded, and the resulting cacophony of sound caused every single remaining zombie's head to explode from sheer vibration.

Lyner cheered like a wildman, and slid down his and Ayatane's wave, bouncing off with a flourish. He landed right next to his girlfriend and the other two Reyvateils. "That was a nice warmup," he said with a laugh. "Well done, girls!"

As Ayatane landed next to him wordlessly, Lyner saw Vincent trudge up the wave, holding Mahine's hand. He cleared his throat. "Uh, what was that, man?! Maybe you should have stayed behind in the lab or something!"

Vincent tussled his blue hair annoyedly. "You _need_ me and my equipment if we hope to find these Quiad Reyvateils. And besides, no one knew that attacks would go through that guy!"

Lyner shrugged. "Idiot," he muttered.

"Lyner!" Shurelia scolded. She smiled sweetly at the Tenba partners. "Don't worry, you'll get another chance soon."

Vincent nodded, and looked at the floor, looking a little self-conscious.

"Speaking of which, have you been able to pick up any Quiad signatures?" Jack asked, arriving next to a bruised-up Radolf.

Vincent checked his arm gadget, and his eyes widened. "As a matter of fact, yes, I AM getting a strong reading of the third Quiad's signature."

"Oh, so that's Mimas, the Reyvateil of Love, right?" Lyner said, looking at Radolf, who nodded. "Alright! Piece of cake!"

"Yeah, yeah, so is anyone going to heal me?" the bishop said impatiently.

Everyone immediately looked at Aurica, who sighed. "Okay, okay, fine, I'll do it!" she muttered, and began to sing Life Warmth for her fellow Church-goer.

With that, the caravan pressed onwards, following the directional bearings provided by Vincent. Lyner was just itching for a good fight, and the fodder they encountered over the course of the day (two rabid Pteradons, a huge, shelled Orange Dinosaur, and another Zombie herd) just didn't cut it for him. The group suffered minimal injuries under Lyner's orders, so they covered a large expanse of the sea.

After a long stretch with absolutely no monster activity, Aurica suddenly collapsed. Ayatane heard her with his exceptionally sharp ears and turned around, tapping Lyner on the shoulder as he did so. "Aurica!" he exclaimed, catching her warm, scantily clad body as she began to tumble down the steep wave they were currently traversing.

He paused, and then put his hand on her massive chest to check for a pulse, which he was relieved to find was there. "She's probably just tired," Jack said, who walked back to them.

Lyner nodded. "I hope so. I guess we should call it a day then."

He left Aurica's unconscious self and went back to Radolf to begin setting up tents. He set up five tents, and as he hammered in the stakes for the last one into the squishy waves, Shurelia approached him. "Uhh, can I stay with you tonight?" she asked shyly, still dressed in her suggestive waitress outfit.

"Of course!" Lyner exclaimed. "You needn't even ask!"

So, without caring who stayed with whom among the rest of the party, Lyner lifted the flap for Shurelia and crawled in afterwards, where they eagerly laid out a sleeping bag.

Lyner removed most of his clothing, oblivious to the erotic effect this had on Shurelia, and slid into the bag, while she quickly scrambled to do the same and wrapped her limbs around him. Within moments, they both fell asleep due to the added fatigue that travel exacted on their aging bodies.

As Lyner slept, he had a very strange dream. He was in a cradle, and looking up at a man who looked exactly like him, right down to the prominent chin structure. The only difference was this man had bright silver hair that went all the way down his back making him look strikingly similar to Reva. "Da-da?" Lyner asked in an infant's voice. "Where ma-ma is?"

The very young Leard smiled coldly. "Back where she belongs. She told me she doesn't care about you, that it's…it's…" His voice caught with apparent grief. "It's my fault you even exist, she's never coming back; but don't worry, we don't need that jerk, that whore of a Reyvateil!" Leard appeared to momentarily lose control of his anger.

Lyner began to cry, a wave of extremely strong emotions rushing over him as if he were standing under a waterfall.

"Oh, there, there, would Lyner like to hear da-da sing?"

Lyner kept crying, oblivious to his father's proposal.

At that instant, Leard looked down at him, and his eyes shone the most porcelain violet Lyner had ever seen. He still looked depressed and hardened by life's troubles, but a very beautiful lullaby in the ancient language escaped his father's lips. This soothed the infant Lyner, and suddenly content, he immediately fell asleep. He heard his father finish the short song and felt him pat him softly on the shoulder. "Don't worry Lyner, I'll never leave you," Leard promised him.

Lyner's perspective changed to above the crib at this point, and he watched Leard walk into the open doorway, where Lady Shurelia hovered waiting, wearing her full suit of Linkage armor. "I can take care of him, you know," she murmured to the embittered Leard. "I-I've always wanted to try raising a child."

"NO!" Leard hissed. "You're never taking him away from me! Not you, nor any Reyvateil!"

"Leard…" Shurelia said softly. "I don't really understand what happened between you and her, and I doubt either of us will ever get the full story. But just know…that you've got a friend in me…and Kyle, of course!"

Leard glared at her a little more, and then roughly walked past her. "I'm going to the bar. You're never going to get your hands on him, I swear!" He proceeded to hold the door to the Lyner household open, waiting for Lady Shurelia.

She hovered to his new position and analyzed him through the blue lens she was wearing. "Don't push us away, Leard, or I feel you may never heal fully."

"I don't give a , I WANT to stay hurt!" Leard sneered. "That's the only way I'll be able to remember not to make the same mistake twice."

Lady Shurelia bristled at the language. "To see someone so young become so embittered," she said, shaking her head. "Well, I won't stop you from drinking yourself stupid if that is your wish. But at least take Kyle with you." As Leard was about to protest, she pressed. "I insist. You NEED a friend right now, Leard."

He wrinkled his nose in disgust and then gave in. "All right, I'll give Clancy a call." He walked out the door to his own house with Shurelia in tow.

At this point, he and the two younger versions of his mentors froze at the sound of distant singing.

"NO! It can't be!" Shurelia cried.

At this point Lyner was shook awake by the Shurelia of the real world. "Wha--?" he asked, wondering what had caused that odd insight into his past.

"Lyner! There are Reyvateil out there! You can here them from here!" Shurelia cried.

Lyner took a moment to check her out as she hovered over him, and then jumped up with her. "Alright, I'm up, I'm up. Let's check it out!"

"Yep!" Shurelia said, licking him passionately on the cheek and grabbing her waitress outfit to slip into. He smiled inwardly; he was growing fond of the new, boundary-less Shurelia. Lyner tossed on his standard armor as well, and the two burst out into the purple daylight.

A/N: Review and you'll even get a free Vault, on top of the Lemon Meruinge pie I promised earlier (or mixed in with the icing, if you wish it). You can't really complain about that, eh?


	13. Assault of the Omegas

**Ar Tonelico**

Rite of Passage: A Murmur In The Dark

Chapter 12: Assault of the Omegas

Lyner followed Shurelia out through their small camp where they met Aurica, Misha, and Vincent facing the direction of the choir, already standing there listening.

"So…there are Reyvateil out here!" Vincent said with his brow furrowed. "How peculiar…"

"What do you mean?" Lyner asked.

"Well, there weren't any traces of them at Nervocelambra," Vincent reminded him. "Nor was there any trace of Song Magic. I had figured that this whole realm operated on a different type of magic altogether, like the kind this peculiar sea was crafted from."

"That song…it sounds familiar," Misha said with an annoyed look on her face. "But I can't quite place it."

"Ohh, don't you just hate déjà vu?" Aurica said cheerfully. She ran over to Lyner and gave him a big wet kiss on the cheek. "Hi Lyner! You were awesome in battle today!"

"Thanks, I've been practicing though," he said with a wink while putting an arm around the jealous-looking Shurelia's waist.

"These songs make me ill at ease," the Tower Administrator said. "We should wake everyone up and go check it out."

"Hmm," Lyner said, stroking his beard. "Vincent, are you getting a Quiad reading from that direction?"

"I don't believe so," Vincent answered. "But we are getting fairly close to the large grouping of the third Quiad I detected earlier."

"Alright; maybe it's a lone Reyvateil colony or something?" Lyner wondered. "Mir would certainly have liked that!"

"On the contrary, Mir has begun to accept humans into her heart once more," Ayatane said, approaching from his tent with a yawn. "It seems your guidance has ushered in a new era of respect for Reyvateils by humans."

"W-well, I'd like to think I did," Lyner said, blushing. "So should I go get everybody?"

"Nah, I got it!" Misha said with a wink, and started singing a Green Magic song. Within twenty seconds, every party member recognized the signal for what it was, and they all congregated (fully armed) at the edge of camp.

"Let's head out, but everyone; be on your guard, just in case," Lyner instructed, and the team slid down into the valley in front of them.

The team slowly made their way up and around two more massive violet waves of squishiness, making much faster progress now that they had rested. In about ten minutes, the party came to the peak of a nearby standstill wave, and froze at the sight. There in front of them, was what appeared to be a gigantic factory, here in the middle of this isolated, mystical landscape.

"A- a factory?!" Radolf queried. "What on earth could they be producing? And who do they supply to?"

"Hmm…" Vincent thought, stroking his goatee. "I've noticed that this Neutron ooze substance is actually quite fertile with nutrients; perhaps it's a massive farming center?"

"I dunno, I don't see many telltale signs of farming," Ayatane mentioned.

"Oh well, who cares, let's check it out. The singing's obviously coming from there!" Lyner announced.

As the group consented and slid down the tidal wave into the very long runway onto the factory ground, Misha couldn't help but feel apprehensive; the song that was being sung by multiple Reyvateil seemed like it was unpeeling her soul verse by verse. She just wanted to get away from it. Not wanting to bother Lyner with her inner problems, however, she just gritted her teeth and skated after the party on the squishy ooze.

The ooze had flattened out into a slant now, so the party gained momentum quickly and traveled the mile-long distance in no time.

As they neared the hulking steel castle, which was sending descending clouds of smog over the Sea, Lyner took a deep breath of the sordid air. He could feel a battle coming on. As the ground began to level out, the party's sliding speed gradually decreased.

"Wow, that was fun!" Shurelia exclaimed. "But how will we ever get back to our tents?"

Lyner shrugged; he always liked traveling light anyway. Some large stocks of corn had appeared as they neared the ugly factory. As Lyner was busy analyzing their large physical structure, he felt someone watching him, so he looked down and saw what appeared to be the harvesters: three nude Reyvateils of utmost beauty.

Misha gasped. She knew those faces from somewhere; but it was with different hair, and a different body shape. Whatever the case, the three girls' ghastly stares freaked something inside of her out.

"Uh, excuse me ladies," Lyner said with a smile as he attempted to skid to a stop, but in doing so accidentally cut into the water and fell into it. He laughed and flailed about, trying to get out, but when he looked up, he noticed that the gorgeous Reyvateil with fiery red hair had bent down to look at him.

When her face got down next to his, she suddenly screamed maniacally, "FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, KILL THEM ALL!", making his blood curl terribly.

The other two nodded, and began to spell cast, while the redhead suddenly thrust her mouth forward, fangs bared. Fortunately, he was too quick for her; he whipped out his sword and cut her down the middle of her skull before she could bite him.

"COULD SOMEONE HELP ME OUT OF THIS GOOP?!?" Lyner yelled, knowing he was probably the target of the remaining two Reyvateil's spells. Unfortunately, momentum had carried the other nine party members just out of reach to help him.

Seeing this, Ayatane yelled, "It's no use, Lyner, just swim after us!"

Lyner nodded, and ripped off his armor, so it would stop threatening to sink him. Kicking the last of it into the depths of the Sea, Lyner swam onwards after the party, hanging on to his sword. "Start running, all of you!" he screamed, as the momentum began to make him pick up speed.

Just as Lyner and the group ran/swam into the entrance to the factory, Lyner's heart dropped. He heard the evil Reyvateil's songs abruptly stop, signifying their launch. Lyner threw his head around to see what was coming, and gaped. A giant, ugly horse-like dragon had erupted into the sea, and a massive red minotaur seemingly entirely crafted out of blood soared into the sky, hovering after the party at an inhuman speed.

"Everyone! Head for cover!" Lyner cried as he and the party made it to solid land inside the castle. As they ran inside, Lyner noticed that the singing got incredibly louder, but only caring about his immediate survival at the moment, he ran up behind Shurelia and Misha, scooped both of them up with either arm, and he dashed behind a giant black-and-red cog, hoping it would protect them. He heard the roar of the dragon, and the hoarse hackneying of the zombie bull approach faster and faster, until suddenly the entire room exploded into an extraordinary combination of blue and red energy.

For a moment, Lyner lost consciousness, and felt as if he were floating in another dimension, one in which his soul was being ravaged by the hands of ancient leviathans.

Then, suddenly, his eyes snapped open. The giant gear lay in shambles, but it had apparently protected the party, since they were all there and in one piece. Just as he was about to wipe his brow in relief, he remembered the singing.

Lyner looked up. There towering above him, was an entire pantheon of different rooms of the castle, among which hundreds, no thousands, of nude Reyvateils stared down at him. And, he noticed, all had exactly the same face. He would have thought it an extremely beautiful one, had a replica of it not just tried to bite his own face off a moment ago. Lyner remembered the face of every man or woman he had ever killed. And there above him, ten thousand people with that eerie face looked at him; their eyes empty of all emotion.

"Oh my god!" he heard Aurica say behind him. Turning, he saw Aurica point at the symbol in front of the massive velvet throne on one side of the pantheon. He recognized the symbol immediately, and glared at Vincent. Vincent looked back innocently, apparently not catching on. "This factory belongs to TENBA!" Lyner hissed. "It's a trap! Devon sent us here to DIE!!"

Misha's face morphed into one of understanding. "OH, so this is where all of Tenba's Reyvateils are made." Her eyes shifted onto Mahine's face, which was identical to the rest of the evil Reyvateils. That's where she had seen it before. "Including you."

Before anyone could respond, a masculine voice rang out throughout the hall. It spoke a singular command: "FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, KILL THEM ALL!"

Extremely eerily, the entire pantheon of Reyvateils repeated those words, and their emotionless faces turned into faces of twisted psychopaths. The lowest tier of women leapt off their floor and began to attack Lyner and his friends with their nails and elongated teeth. The rest of the Reyvateils all began to sing.

"Okay, we've GOT to get out of here, or we're all going to be fingernails!" Jack roared while shooting a spray of machine gun bullets, killing 30 Reyvateil instantly.

Lyner slashed once and downed a similar number. These fighting variety really were poor fighters. "I agree. This bunch is just trying to hold us in place." He threw a look at the four Reyvateils of their group, who were all hiding behind the men so they wouldn't get touched by the zombie-like Reyvateils. "ALL of you, sing a speed-augmentation song, NOW! We cannot win here."

They all nodded and sang quite quickly, since their harmonics were up. Misha released hers first, followed by Shurelia. "That'll have to do," Ayatane said grimly. "Let's make a break for it before we're all destroyed!"

"NO! We need ALL the speed we can get!" Lyner said. "We have no idea what they're capable of, if just two can create monsters of godlike strength." In no time, Aurica and Mahine released their spells as well, and the entire party got more speed in their bones than 700 Yellow Potion A's would give you. "Alright!!!" Lyner roared. "Let's get the HECK out of here!"

The rest of the party roared back, for it was only way they could speak with this much energy pumping through their beings, and together they burst through a random wall, and another, and another, until finally they made it through the huge factory.

A large barbed wire fence came up quite quickly on the dashing party, and Lyner brought his sword up just in time to slash a hole in it.

It was at this precise instant that the monstrous song being sung by the Reyvateils in the factory ceased. "Oh, NO!!!" Radolf roared. "We're still too close!!"

"Make a break for it!!!" Ayatane roared, picking up speed.

As the party stepped onto the goop of the Neutron Sea once again, the elastic bounce of the surface gave them augmented speed. At least, it did for everyone but Misha, who immediately slipped and fell on her face, splashing in the water.

"No! Misha!" Lyner roared, whirling around. As he did, his eyes lit up with the monstrous creation that the evil Reyvateils had crafted. A league-tall grey dragon, if you could call it that, made entirely of cloud and rotating multi-eyed golden wheels sat perched on top of the comparatively small factory. Lyner counted at least 100 massive ghastly heads branching off from the wheels and clouds, and all of them were launching a variety of hulking energy bombs at the party.

"No you fool! She's not worth it!!" Vincent roared.

"Shut up!! Yes she is!" Lyner roared back. In one smooth movement, he collected her with his burly arm and raced back to catch up with the party, letting Misha use his elbow as a seat.

"Lyner!! I love you!!" Misha roared, her heart suddenly overflowing with love for him. She started singing brusquely. Lyner ventured a look at the massive bombs heading towards them. He knew immediately that they couldn't outrun them, if the blast was as big as he thought it was.

Yet he and the other seven runners (Yeeka was riding on Radolf's shoulder) continued to surge forward, their sheer willpower overcoming all other senses. Soon, Lyner could hear the approaching planet-sized orbs of nuclear energy over Misha's singing, and he knew that they were about to be obliterated.

At once, Misha released her newly crafted song, which caused seven dolphins to suddenly erupt from the sea and swim right next to each party member. "Grab on, everybody!" she screamed in her lovely voice, which had returned as a result of singing.

Without hesitation, everyone grabbed their accompanying dolphin and were quickly slurped into the huge sea beneath them. Underneath the surface, the water was much more red; in fact, it was kind of like swimming in blood. The dolphins didn't seem to mind, though, and sped deep underwater.

Lyner realized that he was starting to get a little creeped out, since he could hardly see anything. Suddenly, everything was illuminated when the hundred bombs hit the surface. Everyone looked up and saw a variety of colors exploding above them, but the sea seemed to consume every single bomb, without any of the energy reaching the party.

As the sea lit up, Lyner was alarmed to notice a hulking leviathan just beneath them, sneering at them with a face befitting the Devil. Fortunately, this leviathan didn't seem to have speed on his side, whereas Misha's dolphins did, and they sped onward.

Lyner sighed deeply; they had narrowly cheated death again. However, these dolphins kept going downwards into the bloodstained sea, and he was starting to run out of breath.

* * *

Meanwhile, Michaelis gripped his handrail, eagerly watching the gigantic explosion. The entire realm of the Neutron Sea lit up when the bombs impacted Lyner's party.

"Yes!" he jeered, and pressed up to his scantily-clad companion, Blaire, making out with her passionately. After a good long time, he resurfaced and breathed in the scent of her skin. "Finally; father, I have avenged you."

Blaire hadn't seen her master so happy for a while, so she was quite happy too. She hugged him tighter, nervous that she would mess up in the slightest sense and he would beat her abrasively for it.

Suddenly, Michaelis pulled away, grinning at her. "We must thank the perpetrators!" Blaire nodded fake-enthusiastically, and followed him down the bloodstained Black Hallway to the massive Great Hall, which looked something like a pantheon.

All the girls in the room immediately turned around and mooned him, like he had taught them to do whenever he talked to them, for they were not worthy to look upon their Creator's face. "My Creations!" Michaelis announced, his commanding voice resonating throughout the hall. "You have done well today for killing the spawn of Satan, Lyner Barsett! As a reward, you can all have emotions for exactly one hour." The multitude of mooning girls beneath him cheered, but didn't move. Satisfied with their manufactured response, Michaelis curtly nodded to Blaire and walked back into the hallway that was drenched in her blood.

At this instant, after first singing a song of protection that ensured that the Reyvateils would not rebel against her, Michaelis, or the factory itself, she sand the song of freedom (she had been inspired by classical Nervocelambran songwriting when she wrote this; she thought the result was quite complementary), and a wave of emotion registered on each Reyvateil's face beneath her. She silently performed one more song; which was to locate Mahine in order to see whether she was still alive.

Unfortunately, Blaire saw Mahine swimming through the sea, unblemished. This meant more bloody beatings in the future. Blaire sighed; if she didn't tell Michaelis this now, however, she might get a break from being ravaged in the near future. She didn't know how long she could get away with not telling him, but she would have to do it before he found it out from an external source, or he would surely kill her.

Now, she heard her evil master beckoning her to bed with him, and she skipped back to him, hoping to receive from love from him tonight.

* * *

Lyner had quickly lost consciousness underwater, as had the rest of the party, and when they all awoke, they were back on the surface of the jiggly Neutron Sea. Lyner coughed a little and stood up, helping Misha up, who was still beside him. "Are you alright, Misha?" he asked, concern evident in his eyes.

"Of course!" Misha grinned up at him. "As long as I'm with you nothing can touch me!"

Lyner smiled softly. "If it wasn't for you, we'd all be little particles floating in the sea! Thanks!" he leaned forward and kissed her once on the lips.

He regarded the others. "Everybody okay?" The various travelers nodded and helped each other up off the sea. "Vincent?" he asked.

"Yeah?" the scientist muttered.

"Did you, er…know about that factory?"

"No, I've never heard anything about it!" he said with wide eyes. "Please believe me!"

Jack narrowed his eyes. "He's obviously lying! He's the frickin' head of the Scientific branch of Tenba; how could he NOT know about it? Hell, he probably designed the frickin' place!"

Everyone glared at Vincent and Mahine. "Look," Vincent held his hands up. "I swear this is someone else's doing! Something this top-secret would have to be a Devon project! Remember, no one at all is supposed to know the Neutron Sea even exists! I sure didn't."

Lyner supposed Vincent made sense; the less Tenba officials that knew about the place, the less likely the company would get in serious legal trouble. "So…what exactly WERE those women?"

"Hmm," Vincent said, pulling on his soaked goatee. "Judging by the extreme nature of their verses, I would presume it's safe to say that they operate on a different level altogether than the Origin, Beta, and Third Generation Reyvateil types."

"I agree," Misha spoke up. "Hey Vincent, did you ever see the readouts for Tenba's abandoned Omega Reyvateil project? Because, their songs remind me of the Omegas."

Vincent nodded intently. "That's very perceptive of you; I have a feeling Tenba didn't stop make Omegas after all."

"But these ones, they're different; and MUCH more powerful!" Misha said. "They don't all look like me."

"Yes, they do, actually," Vincent said. "Just not EXACTLY like you. They must be cloning with a combination of originals, you being one of them."

"The other part is Mir, it has to be!" Ayatane announced. "Why else would Tenba take her? I'm going back, she's probably there right now!"

"No, stop!!" Lyner said crazily, grabbing Ayatane by the shoulder. "You don't know that for sure! Besides, if you go in there alone, you're just being suicidal!"

"But I love her!" Ayatane cried, throwing Lyner's arm off of him, but he didn't move.

"I fear you may be right, Ayatane," Vincent said, looking sadly up at the pearly stars. "That would explain why this batch of Omegas is so powerful; they're a combination of two legendary Reyvateils, the Star-Singer and the Murdering Mule." He looked back down at Ayatane. "So that means Devon was lying to you when he said Tenba didn't take her."

While Ayatane fumed, Lyner shrugged and asked, "So what's our heading now, Vincent?"

Before the young man could answer, Jack interrupted. "Wait, we're actually going through with this mission! For all we know, Devon just tried to kill us, and we're STILL doing his dirty work?"

Lyner glared at him. "Have you forgotten already? What about the Severed Serpent? It can save all of Nervocelambra AND your girlfriend! Or do your promises mean so little to you?"

A look of comprehension crossed Jack's face. "Oh," he said. "But why are we still following the Quiads?"

"Because it's our only source of bearing," Radolf explained. "That singular cluster of the third Quiad is the only thing we have a location for. Right now we have NO idea where we are, so going back there is the best start we can do." He looked up. "If only we'd been paying attention to the stars."

"Don't bother, I already tried it," Aurica said. "The "stars" if that's even what they are, come and go randomly. The constellations are inconsistent, at least so far as I've noticed."

"Okay, may I talk now?" Vincent asked impatiently. "We're actually still very close." He pointed off in the distance. "You see that extremely curvy wave far off there?"

"No," Lyner said.

"Uh, the one that looks like a Brachiosaurus?" Vincent muttered, embarrassed to say it the first time.

"Uhhhhh, no. What's that?"

"Er, the one that looks like a penis?" Vincent said even quieter.

"Ohhh, yeah, now I see it!" Lyner said with a goofy grin.

"…that's our bearing," Vincent said with a sigh.

"Alright, let's go!" Lyner said, and he and Jack brought up the lead once more. It was rather odd walking now that their extra energy had been depleted, but the party made the best of it.

After a few hours, with even fewer battles, mostly with giant stingrays from the sea beneath them, the team came upon a very odd sight; a shore.

Everyone paused, not wanting to believe their eyes. It seemed a huge beach stretched out to the left and right, and the Neutron Sea was behaving like normal water, wracking wave after wave on the shore. Surprisingly, a number of people were relaxing on the beach too.

"What in Mir's name..?" Lyner asked aloud. "What's a freakin' beach doing here!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Shurelia asked eagerly. "Let's kick back and relax for a bit, shall we?"

"Yeah, can we, please?!" Aurica pleaded with Lyner, her turquoise eyes wide with desire.

Lyner paused poutingly, and spared a look for Misha. She was nodding her head vigorously at him. He relented. "Oh alright, let's have some fun!"

The girls all cheered and dashed down the final frozen wave onto the mile run to the sandy shore. Halfway there, they plunged into the water, apparently unable to walk on it any longer. "Oh, come in, it feels SO-O-O-O good!" Misha exclaimed, and the rest of the party could hear her from back there.

Jack shrugged. "Well, I might as well go, who knows what kind of hot babes are hanging out here?" He walked down too, and the others all looked at each other with raised eyebrows, wanting to get on with the mission.

* * *

As Jack walked onto the sand, drenched with refreshing water, he saw that the girls had already set up their own umbrellas and towels. "Where did you girls get all those?" he asked as he concentrated very hard on them while they stripped to their undergarments.

"Oh, we just spent most of Lyner's leaf at that stand over there!" Shurelia said of the shack just a little ways up the beach. "Ooh, here he comes now!" Jack, Aurica, and Misha all looked up to see Lyner and the other more reserved travelers finally following them.

"Alright, this is gonna be a sweet beach party!" Jack announced, throwing his hat off into the air with a flourish. It went sailing off into the distance, where two random naked girls ran out to catch it. Jack raised an eyebrow at this; why weren't they wearing any clothes?

He didn't really mind, but he was still curious. The Reyvateils didn't seem to catch the nudity of their beachmates. He looked around and noticed a wooden sign with its back to them. Stomping forward in the sand as he removed his hot, dark-colored clothing, he went to the front of the sign to read it. It said:

"World-Famous Tong-Rhok Nude Beach. Come and enjoy all that the Neutron Sea breeze has to offer, in all the ways it can be enjoyed!"

"Oh, no!" Jack said with a huge grin. "OHHHHHH, no! This just can't be happening!"

* * *

A/N: But it just did. Apparently my offer of Lemon Meringue pie didn't help y'all review much. What about French Silk? I LOVE that stuff! I'll e-mail everyone who reviews this chapter a free slice of French Silk pie, just cuz I love you that much!

Tell me what you think. Beware, the next chapter has a lot of nondescriptive nudity in it! Cover your eyes! I'm still trying to go for a T rating. If you think I should change it, please let me know.

By the way, Part 1 of this epic (A Murmur In The Dark) comes to a close in about three chapters. Woot, thanks for sticking with me this far.


	14. Violated

**Ar Tonelico**

Rite of Passage: A Murmur In The Dark

Chapter 13: Violated

WARNING: This chapter is filled with mature situations and nudity. Not for those who can't stomach these types of stories.

The cool, salty ocean water soaking through his pants caused Lyner to smile. He had to admit, it was kind of nice. However, he was still a little apprehensive about being submerged in the Neutron Sea since their impromptu dive into its depths earlier; he had been rather certain he would die if his hands slipped off the Song Dolphins Misha crafted.

It warmed his heart to think that Misha cared enough about him to craft a song outside of diving. He knew she fancied him, but the extent of it had not really hit him until now. Aurica had crafted one for him long ago on another near-death experience. Lyner smirked to himself; apparently something in his expression when he was about to meet certain death was pretty sexy.

Lyner led Ayatane, Radolf, Mahine, Yeeka, and Vincent all up through the lazy waves and onto the glistening beach. The sky above them was a lovely pink color, which was not too different from the insistent orange clouds that dominated the Nervocelambran skies.

"Lyner!!!" Shurelia greeted him from under her shady umbrella, sunglasses on her eyes. She got up and ran over to the newcomers while Aurica kept sleeping under hers, and Misha watched them all with lazy disinterest.

Lyner returned this greeting with a warm embrace. After he pulled away, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Okay, so does anyone know why there's a random BEACH out here where there's supposed to be nothing but ever-expanding sea?"

"Oh Lyner, you think too much!" Ayatane said with a cat-like stretch. "The Nervocelambrans can't know EVERYTHING, after all."

"I do!!!" Jack said, galloping over buck naked with a large wooden sign in his grasp. He planted it firmly in front of Lyner, who got stone-cold serious when he read the words 'Nude Beach.' Jack elaborated, "Clearly the natives just got a little TOO restless!" Shurelia covered her eyes from the view of his overused crotch.

"Uh-oh, this is bad!" Lyner exclaimed, taking a step backwards as Misha ran over, excited to her breaking point.

"Let me see!" She cried ecstatically and jumped over to the sign, her chest heaving from the activity. Aurica stirred and looked up at the commotion, lifting up her sunglasses. As soon as Misha surveyed the sign's words (her eyes quickly looking away from Jack's bareness), she knew this was a rare chance to show off her courage for Lyner. Taking a steadying breath, she lifted shaking hands to her bra and undid it, sliding it off and spinning around to show her impressive self off to Lyner.

As soon as Lyner saw her gigantic bare breasts, he flicked his eyes immediately upwards, deciding on the spot that he had never done enough cloud watching as a kid. He definitely needed to get caught up on that lazy pastime, Lyner told himself.

"Well, what do you think?" Misha asked, taking off her panties as well, hoping Lyner would look down and be too awestruck to look away. He was tearing her apart; didn't he realize what she was going through to do this for him?

"Oh, well there's some pretty nice clouds, if that's what you mean!" Lyner said with a pleasant smile, his golden beard glistening in the sunlight. "Look, there's one that looks like a brachiosaurus right there!" He pointed to a large, nearby cloud.

"No, look at me!!" Misha commanded, feeling very awkward standing there without anything covering her up.

Lyner bit his lip and flicked his eyes downwards, but immediately regretted it and deflected his gaze towards Shurelia. "Misha, you are a really beautiful person, but could you please put some clothes back on?" he whined.

Misha glowered. "No! This is a nude beach and I plan to enjoy this to the fullest!" She stalked over and wrapped her arm around Jack's organic one (At the moment, he was in a state of mental shock from seeing her flawless body, and was thus unable to speak). "So I'm going to go swimming! Come on Jack, I'll race you to the Sea!" she cried, and bounded off to the sea.

"AlRIGHT!!" Jack said after swallowing the fact that his foster sister was the hottest woman on the planet. "Rock on!" He dashed after her, and quickly overtook her, tackling her into the waves.

Shurelia was very excited by Lyner's refusal towards Misha so, feeling egged on, she tapped him on his shoulder. "Lyner, I want to give you something now that I've wanted to give you for a long time!"

Lyner blinked at her in noncomprehension. "Wha-eh?" he said dumbly.

"Watch this!" the beautiful girl said with dancing eyes, still holding warmly onto his shoulder with one gloved hand. She then proceeded to rip her underwear off all at once with her other hand.

Lyner had been completely unprepared for this, so he just gaped with his mouth wide open. Shurelia had a great, subtle body, and he should have felt extremely honored to lay eyes on it. However, she was such a holy person that he just felt like he had dug up the Goddess Eoria's corpse and was committing necrophilia all over it. This was not a pleasant feeling, so he finally got enough control over his senses to slap his large hand over his face, finally blocking out the heavenly view.

"Jeez what is it with you girls?! The moment you see the word 'nude' you go all sexually deviant! Shurelia, I love you, but PLEASE put some clothes on before you mess me up even more!" he cried.

Shurelia's face drained of all color. Lyner had analyzed her and deemed her unworthy. She always knew she was physically sub-par to Aurica and Misha, but she at least hoped Lyner would be able to look past that. Or maybe he had, but she was just such a blight on his eyes that she disgusted him. Her eyes glistening with tears, she turned and slowly drifted back to her chair, next to which Radolf had seated himself, wearing shades (and all of his clothes) and reading a selection from the Holy Bible of Elemia.

Shurelia hadn't talked for a while, so Lyner slowly took a peek at the outside world. When he saw that she had left, he let out a huge sigh. Looking over, he noticed that Aurica was waving at him enthusiastically, still dressed in her underwear. He waved back jovially and walked over, seating himself next to her.

Aurica clenched her fist in victory; she had guessed right! She had a hunch that Lyner didn't like nudity, so she purposefully laid in wait in the background and let her rivals discredit themselves. Admittedly, she had been worried he would get seduced by one of them, for they were both very beautiful, but it had apparently paid off as he walked over.

Lyner seated himself right next to her, and threw his arm around her. "Hello, o Trinity Divinator, I knew I could count on you!" he said with a joking grin, still unable to swallow down that ugly feeling he had in his throat from seeing his three best friends naked.

She grinned at him, the sun bringing out the red beautifully in her dirty blonde hair. Suddenly having an uncontrollable urge to kiss her large, accommodating lips, he leaned forward in a surge of his love for her. Just as she was about to open her lips to allow him entrance, she suddenly noticed Vincent stripping out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and dropped her jaw in rapture at the gorgeous curves of his young nude body, causing Lyner to get nothing but hair.

Confused, he pulled away and licked her silky hair off his lips, and was about to ask what just happened when Aurica suddenly rocketed off her seat towards the nude Tenba scientist. Lyner's expression of confusion was replaced by a look of disgusted jealousy. How could she fall for that know-it-all, haughty prick when he had practically led them to their death just six hours ago? He was forced to look away when Aurica aggressively ripped off her clothing and pressed up to Vincent, kissing his lips eagerly. Whether Vincent began to kiss back or not Lyner decided not to find out, so he looked the other way, his heart feeling severely wounded.

He got up, and stiffly walked along the beach to clear his head. How did everything get so screwed up so quickly? Someone tapped him on the shoulder, so he spun around, nervous it would be another naked girl. To his relief, it was only naked Ayatane (he found it far less invasive to look at a naked male, since he was quite familiar with the male anatomy). "Hey, Ayatane, what's up?" he said in relief.

"Well," Ayatane said, breaking eye contact. His lilac hair blew gorgeously in the wind. "I have something to confess to you, Lyner."

Lyner tore himself from the odd pleasure he was getting from watching Ayatane's hair. "Er…what is it?"

Ayatane looked at him, suddenly quite bold. "I love you, Lyner!"

At this, Lyner's eyes widened in tangible fear. "You WHHAAAATT?!?!!?!?"

Suddenly, the nude samurai sprang towards him, his pale limbs sprawled as he attempted to latch himself onto Lyner. Fortunately, Lyner was too quick for him, and Ayatane landed flat on the sand. "G-get away from me!!" Lyner screamed, his voice cracking as he turned tail and ran.

Ayatane kick started himself off from the sand and rocketed across the beach towards his crush. Lyner gulped; he knew that Ayatane was ordinarily incredibly swift, so without clothing he must be unstoppable. Armed with this knowledge, Lyner ripped off his sweater and pants in order to maximize his own speed (which made Ayatane quite excited). It was thus that both men ended up dashing across the beach, flaming naked, screaming at the top of their lungs. All beachgoers within earshot turned their heads to examine the show-stealing pair.

Meanwhile, Radolf put down his Bible and ran his eyes over the weeping Shurelia's lithe body. He had never realized it before, but he knew now that she was very precious to him.

Radolf blinked rapidly, trying to chase perverted imagery from his mind. "S-so why are you crying, Lady Shurelia?" he asked, his mind almost too overflowing with love to formulate a conherent sentence. In fact, he hoped she would just throw herself at him right now; it took so much work to get it out.

Unfortunately, Shurelia didn't even look at him. "Oh Radolf, Lyner thinks I'm ugly! I'm the worst-looking Reyvateil I've ever seen! How am I ever going to get him now?"

This, Radolf knew, he could counter with confidence. "N-no you're not!" he said shakily, the lust evident in his voice. "Y-you're HOTT!!"

Shurelia looked up coyly and smirked. "You're not bad yourself," she said, "for a priest."

Radolf raised his eyebrows at the challenge. "Oh yeah?!" he cried. He suddenly erupted from his seat and, acting on some base impulse he never knew he had, he ripped off all of his glorious white armor. "What do you say to this, huh?" he said, waving a hand to illustrate his own fit body.

Shurelia's eyes lit up brighter than the sun. "I say, get back down here on me, you HOT man!!" she exclaimed, grabbing his tush and pulling him down on her.

At this time, Ayatane finally grabbed the rabidly-zigzagging Lyner by the shoulder, his hand wriggling with lust.

Lyner turned around and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I can tell by the way your hands are shaking that you want me!" he said in a sexy voice. 'WAIT a minute! Did I just say that?!?' Lyner thought to himself in disgust and confusion. 'What the heck is WRONG with me?'

"Oh, you know I do!" Ayatane breathed, panting from the runaround. The two looked at each other for an instant, and then suddenly the horny samurai came forward and began to kiss Lyner.

As soon as Ayatane's wet and snaky purple tongue embraced his, Lyner bit down hard and jumped back, causing a spill of blood to leak out of Ayatane's mouth. "JESUS CHRIST THE DAUGHTER OF SATAN!!!!!!" Lyner screamed in agony, without really pausing to think about whom either Jesus Christ or Satan was. "G-GOD!!!!"

Ayatane moaned and fell to the ground, holding the remains of his injured tongue in pain.

Lyner wiped the blood off his lips and looked up, noticing a really big neon skull grinning psychotically down at them amidst the pink smog. "Mimas," he whispered. "So _that's_ why everybody's acting all horny; we're all in the presence of the Reyvateil of Love! Now it all makes sense!" He looked down and saw what he did to Ayatane, so he knelt down next to him. "Look, I'm sorry man, but you were coming on to me, and it was just weird, you know?!"

Ayatane looked at him bitterly, and stood up. "I-I'll be fine. The Reyvateils can heal me." Then he noticed the skull. "Damn it! Now?!" he exclaimed grumpily.

Lyner nodded emphatically. "We have to get everyone out of the spell." He turned to Ayatane. "You go break up Mahine and the dragon, and Aurica and Vincent, while I take care of the rest."

"Right," Ayatane said with a nod, blinking rapidly in an effort to sort out whether he did actually have a crush on his best friend. Unable to sort out his real feelings from the induced ones, he just shook his head and dashed off towards Mahine, who was struggling with Yeeka.

"Okay," Lyner muttered, and ran off towards Shurelia's chair. He didn't know how Mimas would react when she discovered that he and Ayatane were spurning her romantic ideals, but he doubted it would be favorably.

When he reached the two, he made sure to close his eyes, but distinctly heard Shurelia say, "Oh baby!" to Radolf.

"Hey guys!" Lyner said urgently. "You're being tricked. You don't even really like each other! Mimas is right here above us!" He was hoping to appeal to their logical side. He made a small viewing slit between his fingers, and was pleased to see they had both stopped making out and were now looking at each other wide-eyed.

Shurelia was the first to jump back. "Oh my god!!" she exclaimed. "Radolf?!"

Radolf put on a cross expression. "Hey, I'm not THAT bad!"

Lyner grinned. "Good, you're both back!" He turned over to the crashing waves. 'Now for Jack and Misha,' he thought. "Hey!!! You guys!! Stop it – wait, what are you DOING?!?"

"Wait Lyner, we're almost done!" Misha declared amidst a fit of giggles. Jack was looking very excited and in an odd judge-like position over her.

Shurelia came up beside Lyner and called through her hands, "Misha! You don't like Jack, he's a horny pervert! And Jack, Misha's like a sister to you, remember!?"

Jack recovered first, his face all of a sudden turning a shade of green. "Oh my god, what have I done!?!" he cried, and dashed out of the water, kneeling down and wiping off his mechanical arm off feverishly in the sand.

Misha got up and stretched. "Where are you going Jack, that was awesome!"

"Misha, snap out of it!" Jack snarled. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway?"

"It's Mimas!" The now-recovered Vincent declared, running over with Aurica's hand in his. "I can't believe I didn't notice her before."

"What are you talking about?" Misha said, her hands clasped shyly. "I love you, Jack! I want to have twenty kids with you!"

Suddenly, a huge, pink beam fell from the sky and crushed Misha into the ground, eliciting an "ugh!" from her.

"MISHA!!" Lyner roared, running over to try to pry the massive object off of her.

"Who dares defy the omnipotent will of Mimas?" a sleazy male voice said from above.

Lyner looked up and decided that it came from the hulking, demonic skull grinning at him. He drew his sword and said fiercely, "I, Lyner Barsett, Knight of Elemia, challenge you with eight champions from the tower Ar Tonelico! We have been sent to kill you, and we will not fail!"

As Mimas began to laugh boomingly, Lyner signaled Jack to come over and help him with Misha. Jack stooped and easily pried the pink window out of his friend by means of his artificial limb.

Lyner dragged Misha back to the umbrella. "Aurica, heal her," he muttered out of the side of his mouth. Aurica nodded and began to sing over her friend's unconscious body.

Mimas took a huge breath and inhaled all the smog in the area, revealing her massive space station bulk that was multiple acres long. She indeed blotted out the sun, making everything around them appear a dark pink. "Very well," she said in that same nasty voice as she slurped her window back into herself. "This should be amusing!"

Lyner smirked to himself, and then roared, "Battle stances, everyone!" The entire party dropped into a crouch as Mimas waited for them to make a move. "Jack, start firing at her skull; Shurelia, sing Energy Fill; Aurica, charge up a Seraphiflyer; and Radolf, launch Ayatane up into the air whenever she fires a window; Ayatane, try to use your swords to hover up onto the window and ride it back up inside of her!"

Everyone said, "Right," and started doing as they were told. As Jack's bullets hit Mimas, she laughed, "Ha! You call that an attack! Take some of this!" With that, she conjured up a huge spray from the ocean, and as each drop rose into the air, they turned into light-speed ice shards. They shattered Shurelia's partially-formed energy shield around the party, and began pelting the heroes.

"Ugh!" Lyner said, flinching as the icicles sliced into his naked body. He looked around and saw the others bleeding similarly. "Misha, are you recovered yet?"

"Yes!"

"Then sing a healing song NOW!!"

"Right!" Misha said, and sang Paradise Cinna, healing them immediately (Ayatane's tongue grew back, and he shuddered in relief).

"I'm ready, Lyner!" Aurica cried, a gold winged ball spinning psychotically above her.

"Then, launch it!"

Aurica nodded and cast Seraphiflyer on Mimas. The hulking titan howled in insane laughter and formed a massive shield of water around itself, destroying all the angels' arrows on impact.

"Dammit!" Lyner cursed. He looked at Radolf. "I thought she would be weak against electricity, since she's the Water Element?!"

Radolf shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you; although when we fought Iapetus, we didn't use its type disadvantage against it!" His eyes narrowed. "But, we did use its antithesis against it!"

"Its WHAT was sleeping with your mother?!" Lyner wondered.

"I mean, we used the opposite of Darkness, Light, against it, thus weakening it." Radolf said, quite used to Lyner's frequent bouts with stupidity. "SO we have to find out what the opposite of Love is, and use that against Mimas!"

"Oh, I see," Lyner said. At this time, Mimas threw about 100 windows out of its castle hulk and sent them behind the heroes, slowly scooping them towards them.

"Radolf, now!" Ayatane screamed, and Radolf chucked him up high, using his spear as leverage. Once airborne, Ayatane began to whip his swords around at a superhuman speed in order to hover in place.

"Uh guys," Jack said in fear, looking behind him as he continued to pepper Mimas's face with bullets. "How are we going to get away from that MASSIVE PINK WALL!??!"

Thinking fast, Aurica looked at Shurelia and Misha. "Sing an Agility song with me!" They nodded, and once again they upped the party's Agility greatly.

"Great, now everybody jump over that wall!" Lyner roared, pointing at the rapidly-approaching pink wall that threatened to crush them.

Everyone crouched and leapt extremely high in the air just as the wall swept under them. However, Mimas scooped them back up into her with such force that Ayatane was merely batted away into the sea, as opposed to riding one of them back inside her.

As the party landed on bloodied beach, Mimas shook her skull head vigorously to rid the membrane of the hundreds of bullets that had pierced it. "I tire of this little scuffle. Have you ever heard the saying, love blinds?!" the Reyvateil announced in its disturbingly perverted voice.

The skull's mouth opened, and Lyner looked up to see a gorgeous hot pink-colored Reyvateil stick her head out and begin to sing in a legendary voice. Lyner winced. "This isn't going to be good, guys!" he said. "We better make a run for it!" As he made to move, however, he noticed that his legs wouldn't respond. Looking down he saw that the tide had come up a lot and the mud seemed to be holding his legs in place with two miniature whirlpools. Lyner surveyed the area, everyone on the beach seemed to be glued in place as well. Looking out to sea, he saw that the entire Neutron Sea had come to life, and a particularly turbulent wave lifted Ayatane out of the water and chucked him into a large sandstone rock behind the party.

"What do we do, Lyner?" Shurelia cried, being the nearest party member to him.

"Use this chance to attack her," he commanded in what he hoped was a bracing voice. "The same goes for you two as well, Misha and Aurica."

Suddenly, Mimas stopped singing, and as she did a gigantic pink slash came flying down from her skull throne. It whipped down towards the earth, coiling ominously like a snake. Lyner's jaw dropped as it raked across Jack, Radolf, and Vincent's faces, spurting pink energy like a fountain from their eyes as it did so.

"NO!" he screamed. "Cover your eyes, everyone."

Shurelia's song was cut short with a small, high-pitched scream as the pink slash whipped at high speeds across her face, painting an ugly gash across her formerly gorgeous eyes.

Lyner had just enough time to grunt as the slash reached him. He could feel an incredible white-hot pain as he was violated by the song. As happened earlier in the factory, he seemed to be momentarily displaced in another dimension filled with pink nightmarish images, the fire was so great in his eyes. His own screaming woke him again on the dry ground, rising into harmony with the rest of his party.

He opened his eyes but could see nothing. Experimentally, he tried closing his eyes and opening them again, but he could still see nothing. "This isn't good!" Lyner whimpered between screams of anguish. He put his hand down on the sand and noticed that it was suspiciously dry. The water was being sucked out to sea! This either meant the attack was over, or else…

"Everyone, do you still have your Agility!" he screamed hoarsely. He heard an assortment of moans and cries in response. "Glad to hear, it, now get on your feet and run the hell away!!" he commanded, praying his party would listen to him.

He got up and began to run, but then realized he had no idea which way was away from the sea. So, shrugging, he began to take off in the way he thought seemed right. "Hey Mahine!" he hollered in no particular direction.

"What?!" the tear-choked cry returned from his near left.

He reached out a hand and touched her briefly on the arm. He just wanted SOME physical contact, just so he could get his bearings better."You're an Omega Reyvateil, right?"

"I guess so, why?" she replied.

"Could you use a song that's a really powerful incarnation of the opposite of love?"

"Well, I could make a strong, hate-based song, but…" she trailed off.

"But?"

"Uh…Vincent's never dived in me," she said in a warbling voice. "And now, we're all going to die and I'm still untouched!" she screamed losing herself to hysterics.

"Um…sorry, Mahine! I didn't know you wanted me in you!" Vincent screamed from behind them.

"So you're saying, you haven't crafted any songs at all??" Lyner growled.

"Yeah."

Suddenly, the party heard a large boom from out at sea. "…The hell was that?" Jack cried in a girly voice.

"I don't know, but let's just keep sticking together, alright?" Lyner hissed. "Can anyone see?" He got no reply, so he figured that that was a no.

The hairs on the back of his neck standing up, Lyner suddenly felt his feet kicked out from under him, and he fell flat on his face in some water. He screamed as he was suddenly sucked up in the skyward stream of water, where he was being whipped about like a ragdoll, occasionally brushing up against his nude, wet companions. The entire party howled in pain as a bolt of lightning struck the huge hurricane, electrocuting the heroes severely. The only sound Lyner could hear was Mimas's snide laughter invading all else. Lyner grimaced. Why did it have to end like this?!

All of a sudden, Lyner could feel the waters' rage change course, and he was flung in some direction, he knew not which. He screamed and screamed until the pain was finally too much for him, and he collapsed into unconsciousness, his body a slave to Mimas's whim.

* * *

(_Elsewhere_)

When Lyner came to, the first thing he noticed was a lovely peach-smelling aroma. He moved his arms around experimentally, and noticed he was in a thick, goopy mixture of some kind. "I-is anybody there?" he called, after trying (and failing) to regain the use of his eyes.

He heard Mimas's unsettling voice pipe up from right in front of him. "You see, Lyner Barsett, you stood no chance against me. Now, you're friends are all dead, save one."

"Wh-who is it?" he asked, his voice shaking with grief. It was his fault; the mission had failed under his leadership. And now, blast it all, he'd lost his eyes.

"Lyner?" He heard Shurelia suddenly say to his right.

"Wha- Shurelia? Is it really you?" he cried in relief.

"Of course it's me!" He reached out his hand to find her, and realized she had done the same thing as his muscular arm brushed against her dainty one. Giving in to his emotions, Lyner pulled Shurelia in close and began to make out with her in the most heartfelt way he had ever done before. She kissed back, and pressed herself up to him a close as possible.

Mimas laughed insanely. "You see, when you should be grieving, you instead choose love when I wish it. The whole word is at my beck and call. Soon, after the Honakugu festival takes place in Tong-Rhok tomorrow, I will be filled with so much power that I will be completely invincible. Then the entire world will become my blind, love-sick slaves." Here, she erupted into unstable laughter.

Lyner thought that that was just peachy, and he continued to snog Shurelia like there was no tomorrow. After all, he had just gone from feeling the worst he ever had felt to being far and away the most satisfied he had ever been. Who was he to take that pleasure away from the world?

A/N: OH man! Is the rest of the party really dead?!? Duh, of course not! Then, there really wouldn't be much of a story left to tell, would there. Where are Lyner and Shurelia anyway, and how will they escape? Find out next time, on The Rite of Slumber!

Also. Read. And. Review. Thanks!

PLUS!!! I don't own anything, so don't sue me.


	15. Echolocation

**Ar Tonelico**

Rite of Passage: A Murmur In The Dark

Chapter 14: Echolocation

"So…why have my eyes turned into vaginas?" was the first thing that Radolf heard when he came to. The speaker was Jack.

Radolf winced; he had a massive headache. He reached out and groped the ground around him, and was shocked to feel…grass blades?!? Radolf wondered if they had all been sent to the afterlife. Listening, he heard a great deal of noise and singing ringing out somewhere; it could have been either close or far, depending on if there was an echo. He also heard birds chirping, a pleasant sound he had been missing ever since that fateful day a week ago when Iapetus destroyed his city. Radolf groaned; his place was really there, helping the people of Nemo! The first thing he would do, if they all survived this hopeless trip, would be to return and oversee the rebuilding of the Airport City. If they weren't already dead, that is.

"They're _not_ vaginas, Jack!" Misha said as if she were talking to a 5-year-old. "They're called slits. That's why when you touch them, it _stings_!"

"Oh, shwew!" Jack said. "For a moment there, I thought I had become a hermaphrodite. That would have thrown off my game a bit."

Radolf heard all the girls groan and smiled. "Okay, can we have a head count here?" he said, not getting up from his position on the ground.

"I'm here," a variety of people said in pained voices.

"Uh, let's do it one at a time," Radolf said. "Lyner?"

No one responded.

"Er, you there, man?" Jack said.

Still no response.

"Uh-oh," Radolf said. "Lady Shurelia?"

No one said anything.

"Dammit," he cursed. First they all lose their eyesight, and now their two leaders are missing, at best.

Once he continued through the party roster and discovered that everyone else was there, he said, "Okay, so does anyone have any idea why we're in _GRASS_?!?"

"Ugh, presumably the shore turns into grassland eventually," Vincent said in a higher voice than usual. "Either that, or we were channeled to yet another dimension."

"Hmm… so what do we do now?" Radolf said. "Misha and Aurica, try to sing songs to heal our eyes."

"Okay," they said, but then nothing happened.

"Uh…can you still sing?" Mahine asked.

"Y-yeah, I think so," Aurica said, from right next to Radolf, "but I'm having trouble standing up. Radolf, could you help me?"

"Sure," the archbishop said gently, forcing himself up on a bent knee and lending her his armored arm. "Mahine, try to sing, too," he said.

"Alright," she said softly. Within the minute, all three girls began to sing, at which time a cool rush of air descended on Radolf, alleviating all pain from the battle.

"Ah, now that's better," he said with a grin, standing up and stretching.

"But we still can't see," Jack complained.

"Hmm…" Vincent mused. "I suppose Mimas sealed off our vision permanently with her song. The only chance we'll have to undo that seal is… the song of an Omega Reyvateil." Here he reached out to find his partner's hand, and received it, squeezing it warmly.

"Alright," Jack said softly. "So all we have to do is find a Dive Shop, right, and then you and Mahine can craft any song you want?"

"That sounds correct to me," Vincent said. "And I do believe I hear singing nearby; perhaps we may find a Dive Shop if we follow the voices?"

"That seems like a logical path to take," Radolf said in a low voice. "But how are we supposed to find our way? There seems to be a large echo in this area."

"Well," Misha spoke up, having completed all four verses of her song. "Reyvateils have an augmented sense of hearing; maybe we could lead the way?"

"Yeah, and we can all hold hands so we know which way to go!" Aurica said cheerily. "I can't wait to see again!"

"Somehow I don't think this'll all come off without a hitch," Radolf muttered.

"Well, let's do it," Jack said. "But Aurica's leading since Misha can hardly walk even WITH vision!"

"HARM!!!!" Misha cried, followed by a loud thump sound, likely that of her falling on the ground while attempting to attack Jack.

* * *

Aurica's strategy of holding hands seemed to work admirably. Quietly shushing the party members behind her, Aurica followed the pleasant sounds of a carnival as though her life depended on it. After about thirty minutes of hiking throughout the grass-covered hills, Aurica noticed that another sense activated in her that she hadn't experienced for a while: smell. Every time she breathed, she got a whiff of all kinds of delicious scents, such as cotton candy, turkey legs, pitas, and hot dogs. Following her senses became pretty easy at this point, so she picked up the pace.

Soon, Aurica sensed that they had very nearly reached the carnival, for she could feel the heat of human activity soaking into her skin, as well as hear the sound decibels skyrocket suddenly.

"Stop right there, miss!" she heard a sharp voice command, coupled with a spear sliding lithely across her front. "Did you come from the beach?"

"Uh, yes! Yes we did!" Aurica said with a smile. It wasn't really a lie, after all.

"Very well, please continue, and enjoy the Honakugu festival!" the voice said, suddenly quite friendly. "Remember to love everyone you encounter, at least as well as a bunch of paraplegics can!"

"Th-thanks," Aurica said with a cocked eyebrow. What were they getting themselves into? Taking Radolf's hand again, she led the party into the very loud Honakugu festival directly in front of them.

"Aurica, you should've asked about a Dive Shop!" she managed to hear Jack yell from behind her.

"Oh, that's right!" she said. She found her thoughts oddly jumbled, now that she no longer had vision to rely upon. Reaching out, her hand came into contact with a man's arm. "Excuse me, sir, are there any dive shops open today?"

The man guffawed, and she felt his hand examine her face. "Whoa, I've never dived with a cripple before! This should be fun!" She then heard him unbuckle his belt.

'Uh-oh! I've got a bad feeling about this,' Aurica thought to herself. Deeming Aurica Mk 1 an appropriate spell to do away with him with, she began to sing the demented song on the spot.

"Whoa, babe, don't sing yet, we haven't even gotten started! You've got a nice voice though, I'll give you that," the rapist said.

As soon as Aurica felt the man touch her chest, she released the song on him, eliciting a bloodcurling scream from him. Aurica grinned as she felt a fountain of blood spray on her. She still got it. "Hey Misha, do you think you could make a quick Tear God for me?" Aurica asked girlishly.

"It would be my pleasure, Aurica," Misha said, and sang half a stanza, causing a refreshing ice-cold wave to run over Aurica's blood-soaked skin.

"Thanks," Aurica said sweetly. She knew Misha had wanted details about her "lost week" with Lyner ever since she awoke from her frozen slumber, but she planned to withhold them for as long as she could, just to see her suffer. Aurica knew that she was the only Reyvateil good enough for Lyner, so teasing her opposition was incredibly desirable to her.

"Uh, I'm still covered with blood, too," Radolf said sadly.

With that, Aurica began to force her way into the crowd, clinging to Radolf's arm all the time. "I want food!" she heard Misha declare. Aurica grinned. She had to admit, all the food smells were quite tantalizing.

Shrugging, she said, "Alright! If they accepted our money at the beach, they'll probably take it here, too!" She squiggled her way over to a stand around which she heard people discussing cotton candy. "I'd like three swabs, please!" she announced, hoping the cart worker would hear her, wherever he was.

"Why three?" Radolf asked.

Aurica huffed. "For all three girls, duh! Men don't need sugar to keep going!"

"Oh, I see."

Suddenly, Aurica heard a wave of applause emanate from her distant left. This attracted her attention, and she abruptly pulled Radolf over to hear what was being said on the loudspeaker. "Misha, could you grab it please?" she called over her shoulder.

"Sure!" she heard her friend reply.

Now being positioned in an attentive crowd of sweaty people, Aurica heard the following be announced on loudspeaker: "Now; before we announce our final fit, 30-year old Stotan, we will hear an impromptu legend from our very own poet, Miko Hegal. Miko?"

The megaphone apparently switched hands. "Why thank you, Sir Algae! Now, ahem the following is one of my favorite Tong-Rhok legends, the Legend of Jimmy Jack, the Moose!"

As soon as this person dictated the words 'Jimmy Jack,' the entire crowd went completely ballistic, hollering at the top of their lungs in anticipation of their favorite legend. Aurica's jaw dropped; where the hell were they?

The speaker continued, "Once upon a hallelujah, Jimmy Jack galloped through the streets of Phantasmagoric Plaza, where rivers of frigid milk flow freely." Here a variety of 'amen's' emanated from the hyped-up crowd. "Jimmy Jack was a female moose, and a herd of Llamas living in the clock tower recently extracted her brain to make some Nervous cream." Here the speaker said in an apparent aside, "One moose brain can produce approximately six cans of Nervous cream."

After more "amen's" and one cry of "HOT SEX!!!!" Miko continued. "The Llamas were under the directive of the mother country, Jehovah, to serve Nervous cream as a spread for chips and crackers at the matriarch festival today. After the Llamas had resealed her empty skull, Jimmy Jack flew out of bed in a dreamlike bewilderment and galloped out of the tower limits. Now Jimmy Jack giggled hysterically and urinated until a great wave of milk splashed out onto the pavement and froze Jimmy Jack out of her stupor."

After this story ended, the crowd lost all sense of self control and Aurica sensed a large amount of rapid activity from all around her. "Radolf? Did that story make ANY sense to you?" she asked her religious friend.

"Um…no. I really can't think of a single reason why it should have this effect on people, let alone reach legend status!" Radolf said in a confused manner. He was suddenly handed a delicious-smelling swath of cotton candy, so he said, "Oh! And here's your cotton candy!"

"Oh, thanks!" Aurica said flirtatiously and took it from him, pecking him on the cheek in thanks and burying her face in the treat and swallowing as much as she could at once. Her ears perked up once again when she heard the original speaker, Sir Algae, begin talking once again. "Attention, attention, all you lovers out there!" he announced, causing both cheers and silence from his audience.

"Our last Stotan is…" and the audience cheered as Sir Algae apparently did something onstage. "Luke Androgossa!?" the man said in a mix of his usual announcing voice and utter bewilderment. A disturbing hush came across the mob of onlookers, and Aurica immediately knew something was up. Hearing a child's voice from beneath her, she stooped down and said, "Excuse me, could you tell me what's going on here?"

"Oh my GOD, you're HOTT!" the boy said. "If you make out with me, I'll tell you everything!"

Aurica thought about it, and then nodded, pursing her lips for the kid. He jumped forward and clutched her breasts, sticking his tongue into her mouth. For some reason, it tasted like a mixture between urine and garlic, and as such it was not a very pleasant kiss for Aurica.

When they boy pulled back and finally released his death hold on her, he said, "Well foreigner, this village is called 'Tong-Rhok,' or, 'The Buttcrack of Love,' as I call it," he began, apparently quite proud of his clever wit. Aurica smirked to humor him, wanting to discover as much about her current situation as possible from the little pervert. "This holiday is called Honakugu, and it was developed to celebrate the yearly blooming of flowers! Every year, six of the villagers are chosen to become Stotans, masqueraders who parade down every street of the city, chucking balls of glitter, shrubbery, raindrops, and orchid petals wherever they go!"

"So why is everybody so shocked that this Luke guy was chosen?" Aurica said, but then her voice caught as soon as she said 'Luke.' 'Oh my God!' she thought to herself, 'Could it be LUKE, Luke?!'

"Well," the boy said slyly, "I'll only tell you that if you agree to marry me!"

Aurica smiled as sweetly as she could, and stooped down next to him. "Well, sure I will!"

"Prove it!" the boy said suspiciously.

"Alright," Aurica said calmly and pulled the youth into her, eliciting a shocked gasp from her party when she cried out as she kissed him lustily and stroked him as adoringly as if he were Lyner. After the boy with horrible breath moaned once in pleasure, Aurica pulled away, trying to smile (which was hard with such an awful taste in her mouth). "So you were saying, my fiancé?"

"Okay, there are several problems with Luke being the sixth Stotan." The boy continued, as his voice cracked. "Luke is a convict; he tried to contact his foreign girlfriend and tell her about our secret society, so he was thrown in prison for life! And that's not all, the Stotans usually have two weeks to meditate and get in touch with their inner beast of the mountain, but by the time we reach the prison and tell him, Luke will only have half that time to prepare! That, coupled with his unreliability as a citizen of Tong-Rhok practically clinches that he will mess up the entire festival!"

"I see!" Aurica said. They HAD to go see Luke, he sounded like the only sensible person around here (and possibly Krusche's former crush).

"Yeah, so the royal guard should be leaving to get him really quick!" the boy finished, sounding genuinely worried about the fate of his festival. "Oh, here the carriage comes now!" he said, and then Aurica heard him scream out as he was apparently run over by the coach.

"Oops, I'm so sorry!" the Royal Guard said, halting his cart and speaking down to Aurica and the party. "Was that your love-child?"

"Yes," Aurica said, faking tears. "Now life will never be the same without him! I should just kill myself now to put myself out of my misery!"

"There, there, miss, I'm sure you'll have another kid in a year or so!" the Guard said consolingly. "Here, if you like, you and your paraplegic friends can bum a ride on our Royal Coach!"

"Really?" Aurica squeaked, wiping a fake tear from her eye. "Is it big enough!"

"Of course!" the guard said. "It's effin' huge! Just hurry up and get in, all of you, we have a festival to save!"

"Right!" Aurica said in a grief-stricken tone, and walked up to the coach, feeling her way into the trunk. Once up, she helped all eight other party members in as well. The guard was thumping his foot anxiously, and then suddenly took off after Mahine was helped in.

The five-day carriage ride to the prison outside of town passed without much happening. The party seemed a lot less exciting to Aurica now that Lyner and Shurelia were no longer with them. If Lyner really was dead now, what would she do? No, she refused to dwell on that. Lyner was too tough to be killed by some stupid Reyvateil of Love.

After what seemed to be a lifetime of just sitting around, twiddling her thumbs, the carriage finally stopped. "We're there!" the Royal Guard called down to them, jumping out of the cabin. "Just wait here, I'll be right back as soon as I find Luke!"

The party sat there for a while, when suddenly Vincent said, "Do you think it's safe to go out now?"

"What for?" Radolf said lazily.

"Because, I've gotta pee!" Vincent said nervously, and barreled out the back door of the trunk to relieve himself.

"To tell the truth," Aurica said as she felt heat rise to her cheeks, "I've gotta pee too!"

"What's the use in hiding it? I must relieve myself as well!" Radolf said intently, struggling to get up.

"Yeah, nature calls!" Misha announced, and with that, the entire party jumped out of the carriage and walked out a ways before squatting as one and using the restroom on the grass.

Aurica grinned. She never realized she would have it in her to pee while holding two guys' hands, but then again, she had gone without urination for a good long time.

Eager to quell the tinkling silence, Aurica spoke up, "So, uh, do you guys think we can even beat the Quiad Reyvateils? I mean, we were totally crushed!"

"Hmm," Vincent said as he farted un-gentlemanly. "We were taken by surprise this time, which is my fault, but you do have a point. We'll certainly have to be more strategic in the future."

"Well, first thing's first, we've gotta get our vision back!" Jack said in a satisfied voice. "After that, we'll think about what we do from there. Maybe we could go back to Nervocelambra and get reinforcements, if need be."

"Okay," Aurica said as she finished peeing. "That makes me feel better."

After a few minutes, all twinkling and farting stopped, so Radolf took the initiative and stood up, and the rest of the party followed suit, making their way back to the carriage holding hands still.

Once safely inside, everyone pulled their pants on again.

"Dang, it feels like we're in a nursing home, doesn't it, being so dependent on each other, I mean," Misha said from next to Aurica.

Aurica snorted at this. "Well, I'm not gonna lie, I'm just glad that stupid kid got run over. He was THE worst…"

"Well, at least he told us what was going on!" Misha chirped. "We'd be so lost if he hadn't helped us! And you have to admit, it IS kinda cute that he liked you when he was so young."

"WHAT?! You pedophile! You wouldn't be saying that if you had to kiss him!" Aurica exclaimed in distress.

Feeling newly refreshed, the party continued to talk on a variety of subjects in their boredom, until one night (two nights later), Jack spoke up in an irritated fashion. "Okay, what the heck? What is taking them so long?!"

"Hmm, well we ARE foreigners," Ayatane said. "Perhaps they're trying to figure out what to do with us."

At this precise instant the door flew open. "Hello, outsiders," the Guard said, helping someone inside as he spoke. "You are all temporarily in a period of observation by the Royal brigade of Tong-Rhok. You will be taken into the Chieftain's tent back in the city along with your fellow outsider, here. If you conduct yourselves humbly and with respect for the customs of our people, you will be welcomed as citizens of our great village. If not, then, well, we'll get to that later. Now then, enjoy your trip back to Tong-Rhok." The guard said, closing the hatch.

The newcomer spoke up suddenly. "So…are you all blind?" A variety of yeah's, yup's, and yes's answered him. "Oh…" he said. "I was hoping that one of you would be my girlfriend, who is also foreign, but I guess no such luck, eh?"

"Uh dude, who is your girlfriend?" Jack said apprehensively.

Everyone's ears perked up. "Oh, a mechanic from Firefly Alley. Her name's Krusche Elendia." He spoke her name like it was a holy passage.

"LUKE!!!" Everyone screamed, and they all jumped blindly at him, smothering him with hugs and welcomings. That is, everyone except Jack Hamilton, who just sat there, stunned. He didn't think he would be able to talk to this Luke, since he had completely circumvented his relationship with the sexy mechanic. Jack still loved Krusche; it was the one relationship he had ever had that he saw as genuine. He clenched his teeth. He would have to make sure that Luke never got back together with his girlfriend, even if she was reanimated.

A/N: I hope everyone's enjoying this story! Personally, I think it's a blast, but maybe that's just me? PLEASE R&R, all!


	16. PunchDrunk Love

**Ar Tonelico**

Rite of Passage: A Murmur In The Dark

Chapter 15: Punch-Drunk Love

'How dare those maniacs!' Luke Androgossa thought privately to himself as he meditated as intensely as possible while sitting naked on top of the Royal Coach. '_THREE _days?! There's no way I can possibly get in touch with my inner beast from the mountain in that time! I can't believe the sacred magic even considered me a citizen of Tong-Rhok anymore, considering how the Chieftain treats me.'

Ever since the Royal Guard found him in the bowels of the 33-story deep Luziachor Prison, he was thrust quite jarringly back into the spirit of doing things. Luke had been astonished at this directive; most Masquerades had two entire weeks to prepare fully for the Honakugu festival. If he didn't meditate very strongly and very quickly, he would be seen forever by the people of Tong-Rhok as the biggest traitor in the history of mankind!

The enthusiasm derived from this train of thought was what propelled Luke to abandon the company of the shockingly friendly cripples in the carriage below him. They had once again brought his forgotten love to the forefront of his mind (how often he used to fantasize about his young apprentice…hotness), but he wouldn't stand to have his intensity affected by such thoughts of lust at this dire hour.

He couldn't count on the Royal Guard being late; the man would be dishonored for all eternity if the carriage arrived late at the Honakugu festival. So all responsibility was on his own head. Great.

All the way back to Tong-Rhok Luke meditated ferociously in the nude, letting himself be guided across the snow-swept mountain range that separated the leviathan blue prison from the Village of Love. The intensity of Luke's mind kept him as warm as he needed to survive, so he meditated on without cause for worry. The magical representation of his inner beast was as small as a single quark in comparison to the huge scope of the depths of his mind. Tong-Rhok magic takes an incredible amount of mind-purging, so Luke tried as hard as he could to recall his master's methods of mind journeying. Luke seethed across every single layer of his mind searching as intently as possible on that one flaming dot floating about that signified his destined monster. If he did not contact that dot, ruin and chaos would fill the years following this most sacred festival.

Suddenly, Luke felt a furtive tap on his shoulder, and his eyes snapped open. "Yes, what is it?" he demanded, extremely annoyed.

"Stotan Androgossa…" a nervous-looking, old, and dark-haired squire said.

"_Yes_?" Luke countered. Didn't this moron understand the burden that had been placed on his shoulders?

"It…it is time for the Masquerades to transform."

Luke's eyes widened, and for the first time he analyzed his surroundings. He was in a dank, warm, velvet-lined room, with floating candles circling the multitude of dark obsidian pillars endlessly. A musk of pot smoke was apparent in the room as well, signifying to Luke that he had truly arrived at the Chieftain's abode. (The Chieftain was known throughout the village as an ardent pothead.)

"…very well. Carry me in, slave." Luke commanded.

"Yes, Stotan Androgossa," the squire said, and snapped his finger, signaling two burly men to walk over and pick up the cot that Luke had apparently been placed on during his mind journey.

Luke and the other five Stotans were carried into the Chieftain's pot-smoking chamber simultaneously. Luke began to breathe heavily; he didn't know what would happen when he underwent the incantation of Kugumasque. He had met a beast inside, but his bond with it was relatively brittle, cause enough for worry.

Luke was surprised to see his fellow travelers (the three ladies, four men, and a dragon) were in the pot-smoking chamber in apparent observance of the ritual. Normally only the most sacred members of society were allowed this deep into the Chieftan's abode… but then again, they were all blind, so Luke doubted they would glean much from this great honor. Indeed, most of them looked completely confused from his seated viewpoint.

A thick film of perspiration carpeted Luke's neck and ran down the length of his back. He rather fancied death to be a good alternative to destroying the sacred tradition of the Honakugu festival; but that would be further undermining tradition's authority, since there must be an even six Stotans leading the parade. There was no escape; what must be done would have to be done. Luke hoped his master's spirit would bless him into achieving better oneness with his beast.

After praying once silently, Luke began to meditate once more, with his eyes open this time. The other five Stotans were all cot-ridden and were deep in spiritual meditation.

The Chieftain, a fat man with a saggy face and several large bearskins intertwined with his dirty blonde hair, stepped onto the dragon-shaped altar and poured a silver liquid out of his empty eye socket and into the fire.

The fire stoked up and encased the room like a radiant gemstone, glowing a fluorescent prism of all seven colors of the rainbow.

The Chieftain then waded through the rainbow flames and howled out an ancient rhyme, the Kugumasque Incantation. The ritual had begun.

The first Masquerade rose into the air and transformed into a red lizard man, with futuristic limbs and claws.

The second sprung out of his seat and became a crystalline beluga man.

The third launched forward into the flames and became a powerful scorpion man.

The fourth fell through his cot and became a shimmering pterodactyl man.

The fifth spun around in a circle on his butt, jumped up, did a backflip and became a giant bear, foaming at the mouth.

All that remained was Luke. All eyes turned to look at him. "Well?" the Chieftain growled.

Luke made no response, but meditated all the harder, bleeding from his eyeballs from the stress. Why wasn't anything happening?

The Chieftain then giggled girlishly and ruled, "It looks like _someone's_ been procrastinating!" All the attendants and nobles giggled politely at this. It was then that Luke had the spiritual insight that the Chieftain was bisexual and likely had three testicles.

Suddenly, darkness exploded throughout Luke's psyche, and he wailed from the sickening pain. He looked down at himself and saw that he could no longer see his body. 'What is happening to me?' he cried inwardly against his reeling head. Everyone in the pot-smoking chamber was silent. When Luke returned, he noticed he had transformed into a seaslug man. 'Well, this is kind of cool," Luke said. "At least I transformed into something, and still have a capacity for rational thought."

"What _IS_ it?" cried the Chieftain. "It's certainly not a beast from the mountain!"

"It must be a beast from the sea!" said the Chieftain's advisor, to which the Chieftain nodded in fervent agreement.

The transformations all finished, all six Stotans were transported outside the mansion by the power of the Goddess of Love, who resides at the beach. Finding themselves on top of a flowering hilltop, the six began to march down to the town and throw their belongings everywhere.

They marched in collective unison, swaying back and forth in an undead manner, greeted by the ecstatic cheers of the love-drunk audience. The Lizard, Bear, Scorpion, Pterodactyl, and Bear all threw lovely glitter, shrubbery, raindrops, and orchid petals, but all Luke could throw were hideous globs of black barf.

Whenever a barf ball exploded on the ground, Luke could feel a year of misfortune seeping into the ground of the city. He could see the lines and age spots appear on the young women's faces, horribly disfiguring them. He could see the elderly's eyes turn blue and finally rot out.

It was too much for Luke to take. He peered over the edge of a pass and saw that the great Maw of the Mountain, the abyss of all abysses, lying there, seemingly calling to him.

Luke shrugged, ran, and jumped off the cliff. He fell for a very long time. Just before he was completely swallowed into the dark night below, he looked up. The image he saw would be imprinted in his mind for all eternity. He saw every single villager of the city follow the Chieftain in a massive, hideous mob off the cliff.

* * *

Feeling and loving Shurelia felt so right to Lyner, he would have been happy doing that for the rest of eternity. His constant ventures with the naked girl for the past two weeks had certainly been the highlight of his and her lives up to this point. Suddenly, though, Lyner sensed something was wrong; the vast majority of his love for his girlfriend suddenly dissolved.

"What the heck?" he asked aloud, although Shurelia kept desperately licking his mouth, not ever wanting to separate from it. Lyner heard Mimas moan in her unsettling pseudo-male voice, and then suddenly all feelings of love whatsoever left his toned body. The goop had completely disappeared, and Lyner was immediately bombarded by huge volumes of salty water pounding against him, coupled by the unnatural sensation of falling.

He and Shurelia held onto each other for dear life and choked on the water that they had accidentally inhaled as some strong current thrust them down a winding trail deeper and deeper into the sea. Lyner wondered if this was some kind of supernatural wrath being inflicted on him for all of his wrongdoings when he was alive. His mind couldn't get around the concept of what was happening to him, so he just knead his hands into Shurelia's dainty, slippery body, knowing he would never forgive himself if he lost her to this evil sea forever.

Suddenly, the odd current stopped completely, and Lyner felt his back smash into a solid rock floor, with Shurelia on top of him. His body wouldn't stop shuddering from the sheer shock of being vaulted throughout an ocean. He gasped, filling up every pore of his body with the nurturing return of oxygen. What had happened to them? And where the hell were they?

Lyner felt down Shurelia's back as she coughed and sputtered blood and wetness onto his face. His hands ran across the part where he had held her, and his throat caught in his chest when he felt the warm, bloody wounds his hands had left.

"Shurelia?" he asked gravelly, having not spoken for a full two weeks. "You should heal youself."

Shurelia laughed weakly and petted his face, attempting to wipe off some of the slime she had spit up on him. "I hardly think I can sing now, my love."

They lay silently together. "Wow, those last two weeks…" Lyner spoke up.

"Shh…don't say a word; nothing can adequately describe what we felt there. We shan't let futile language imprison our memories of what happened."

"Oh. Good idea!" Lyner said with a smile.

"Don't think you're safe yet!" they suddenly heard a sleazy voice say from nearby. Lyner jumped up, and crouched in a battle-ready position. Mimas must have still been with them, but was talking in that same nearby manner in which she had spoken earlier, signifying…what? That she was close by? But how could she be close by when she was a hulking space station from hell?

"I may have been wounded deeply, but I can still sing, and you can't see me!" Mimas declared.

Lyner's brow furrowed. How was she wounded? Maybe his friends pounded her bulk with a potent dash of hatred? At any rate, this was their chance to kill her, once and for all.

Thinking fast, he roared, "Shurelia, sing Blast Fill now, and then switch to Child of Light!" He needed her now, more than ever, there would be a time for rest later. Feeling the power, protection, and agility flood his veins as Mimas began to sing in her ethereal voice, Lyner ran around with his arms wide, hoping to run into something.

Suddenly, he felt a stone column collide with his right arm, so he bent down and heaved, ripping it from its place stuck in the ground of the cave. Lyner grit his teeth. Now that he had a weapon, he just needed to strike the enemy with it, in order to increase their Harmonics. He ran around toward the source of Mimas's voice using his augmented speed, hoping the Quiad Reyvateil was as weak as she now sounded.

Lyner groped the length of his stone beam to analyze its dimensions, and when he judged he had gotten near enough to the evil Reyvateil he lunged and struck with the weapon as roughly as he could in his shell-shocked state.

Mimas released her spell as soon as he attacked, so although he bashed into her body he was bombarded with an intense blast of energy. Crying out, Lyner was rocketed through mid-air until he collided with stone again. He groaned, but he had at least granted his girlfriend some harmonics. "Shurelia, launch Child of Light NOW!!!!!!!!" he cried, spitting up blood as he did so. For a brilliant minute, he could see once again. Nothing physical, mind you, but he saw the intense, blinding glory of the spell leaking in through the slits in his skull.

But even that slight glimmer of sight was nothing compared to the happiness Lyner got at hearing Mimas's cry of agony as the spell destroyed her. He laughed out loud as Kanade ate through her soul at Shurelia's command. Two Quiad Reyvateils down, three to go.

All was quiet then. "We did it!" Lyner yelled in victory, pumping his tired fist in the air and standing up off the gravel.

"Did we really?" Shurelia said disbelievingly.

Lyner snorted. "I'm sure that attack completely leveled her. She was no longer shielded by her space station, which I'm sure lowered her defense to nearly that of a real Reyvateil's."

"Oh," Shurelia breathed, feeling strangely comforted by Lyner's logic. Why the logic of a nearly mentally-impaired knight should comfort her in itself wasn't terribly logical, but there it was, anyway.

Suddenly, the heroes heard some stirring echo down to their area of the cave. "Hmm, seems like we're not the only things living down here." Shurelia observed.

"Seems like it," Lyner said shakily. He suddenly felt much more awkward towards his girlfriend, considering what they had been doing the past two weeks. Were they now tied together for good because of all that? What about his vow to Aurica and his adoration of Misha? Oh well. He could dwell on that sludge later. "I wish my pillar hadn't crumbled," he said lamely.

He felt Shurelia's wet, pruny hand clasp his lovingly. "Sh-shall we get going?" Lyner asked nervously.

"I guess," Shurelia said sadly. They proceeded to walk forward on the cold stone floor slowly, when suddenly both heroes stepped out into a brink of nothingness, where they fell face forward into the apparent pit with a scream.

A/N: One more chapter of Murmur In The Dark! Aren't you just excited beyond reason? I hope you liked the disconnect the first part of this chapter had from the rest of the story, I thought it was a winning change of perspective. I'd really like a couple o' comments, just for the boost of self esteem from getting noticed (which would be nice, since today I found out I really suck at giving speeches…). Also, would someone please tell me how to ask for a new Category?? Cuz I'd really like to put this trilogy in an Ar Tonelico category. Thanks, plus it would just be nice to hear your input. It really doesn't take ten seconds to write a review, my readers!


	17. The Underworld Prison

**Ar Tonelico**

Rite of Passage: A Murmur In The Dark

Chapter 16: The Underworld Prison

"Wow…" Jack said, the party still sitting in the chieftain's tent. "That was really screwed up, whatever just happened."

"This whole village was acting quite bizarrely, even for common mob mentality." Vincent said quietly, finally having grown accustomed to the splitting pain where his eyes used to be. "Could it be possible that they were all acting under the influence of Mimas as well?"

Misha's heart suddenly warmed considerably. "Hey everyone! Lyner's still alive!"

"Wha- really?" Ayatane asked. "You can tell?"

"I can feel him again," she said with a small smile. "He has a...presence about him, and I can feel it from here!"

"Really?" Aurica gasped, sounding a bit jealous. She whispered, "I can feel him too, just not that way."

Misha grunted and struggled to her feet. "He must be close by; we should look for him!"

Vincent laughed bitterly. "Yeah, like looking will do a hell of a lot of good when both parties are blind. What we need is a dive machine for me and Mahine."

"Then I suggest you shut up and think of where one might be," Radolf said, the floor creaking as he got up as well.

"We also need to find some weapons," Jack reminded everyone.

"Alright. I don't think waiting here will do us any good, so we might as well separate and start by calling for Lyner," Ayatane commanded.

"Yeah, you really miss Lyner, don'tcha Ayatane?" Misha said craftily,

"I-I- nooo I don't!" Ayatane stuttered. "At least not as much as you miss Jack being inside you!"

"WHAT?!?" Misha and Jack both cried and ran towards Ayatane's voice, aiming to punch him but punching each other instead.

"Anyway, like Ayatane so wisely stated," Radolf said shakily. "We should try to work together to map out the city, if we can. Perhaps then we could figure out where a laboratory or armory is."

"Sounds like a plan," Mahine said. Vincent squeezed her arm lovingly.

* * *

(_Three Miles Beneath the Surface)_

After Luke accepted the fact that he was a goner and fell into unconsciousness, he thereafter awoke among a large throng of mutilated bodies in a dark blue cave. He thought he was the only person still alive until he saw two bright flashes and loud voices echoing from another chamber of the cavern. The noises and lights caused several of the bodies to stir, so Luke decided that this was a great time to check out whatever was going on beyond his realm of vision.

Luke had at first found it difficult to walk with flippers for legs now that he was outside the control of the all-powerful Spirit of Love, but after a few minutes he got the hang of swaying drunkenly to move around. When he entered the room he was shocked to see two especially beautiful people, a blonde man and a grey-haired girl, take the other in their arm and proceed to walk straight off a cliff into a massive ravine.

"Oh my god!" Luke yelled in a cutesy, squeaky voice and got down on all fours like a common seaslug in order to run over to them at his top speed. Just as they rather stupidly stepped off and began to scream, Luke slid back on his hind limbs and gripped both people with his two front flippers, holding them in midair.

He collapsed backwards and let the two people fall over him to safety. Moving around as a seaslug man was really hard work. "Okay, what is it with everyone trying to kill themselves around here?" he said in an adoring, cartoonish voice that horrified him.

"What, were those _flippers_?!?" the man said incredulously, standing up shakily. "What the heck are you?"

Noticing that these two had scars similar to those of the band of travelers he met from earlier, Luke stood up once more with difficulty because of his gelatinous bulk. "Hey, that isn't a very nice way to thank someone who just saved your life!" he said in the same manner that a girl scout would offer a rockstar a free lollipop. Was the transformation really affecting his mind as well?

"Thank you so much!" Shurelia said, covering up her private parts as best as she could. "You sound really cute!" At this, the blonde man bristled with apparent annoyance. "Are you…human?"

"Yes…at least, I _think_ so!" Luke said cheerily, even though he felt awful. "The last thing I re_member_, I committed _su_icide, and _then_ I was _swallowed_ by darkness!!!! Now...here I am!!" He said in celebration. He grimaced, feeling the need to hurl.

"Ohh, you're so cuuute!" Shurelia said with a squeal. "I'm Shurelia, and this is my boyfriend Lyner! We can't see, so do you think we could hang around with you for awhile to try to find a way out?"

"Of _course_! My name's Luke!" Luke said sweetly. Immediately afterward, he bent over and blew chunks all over the ground. "_Sorry_," he said softly.

"Aww, are you okay?" Shurelia said, her hand flying to her lips in worry as Lyner smacked his own hand to his forehead.

"Well, at least we can tell where you are from your smell now…" the knight told him, while Shurelia backhanded him across the face. "OW! Shurelia, only Aurica's supposed to be able to do that!"

"Hah, that's what you think!" Shurelia challenged him. "Personally, I'm just amazed that I even hit you!" she muttered.

Suddenly, Luke heard an angry cry from behind him, "Look, there he is! That's the man who murdered the entire village of Tong-Rhok!" He spun around very quickly on his slimy butt and saw the Chieftain, his face now horribly disfigured and miscolored, pointing his finger at them. "Kill him!"

"Ooooh, we might want to leave, now!" Luke chirped in a singsong manner as a horde of altered villagers came into their room of the cave.

"Wait," Lyner said. "Is there a corpse on the ground around here?"

"Yes!" Luke exclaimed, his blood pumping as the villagers neared. There was a burnt-beyond-recognition pink body lying on the ground.

"Are sure she's dead?"

"…pretty darned!"

"Alright then, could you pick it up and take it with us?" Lyner asked like it was a perfectly normal thing to ask.

"It's a dead body, dude!" Luke sang. "I ain't touching that!!!"

"We need her for Vincent to analyze," Lyner muttered to Shurelia, while bending down on his knees to grope around for Mimas.

"Look- no, neverr _mind!_ _I'_ll _get_ it!" Luke said and slid over, throwing the sizzling corpse onto his shoulder and running. "THIS way!" he squealed, grabbing Shurelia across her chest (on accident) and pulling her with him. Shurelia gasped and grabbed Lyner to direct him as well, just as the villagers were gaining on them.

"There's stairs coming up!" Luke exclaimed jovially, throwing a worried look over his free shoulder at the furious Chieftain in the darkness behind them, who was picking up speed and unsheathing a glimmering saber from its sheath.

"Alright," the two blind heroes said together and began high-stepping to prepare for the ascent. The three managed to make it onto the stairs, and Luke gauged their speed so that they hit the stairs as fast as his companions were stepping. Soon thereafter, the Chieftain exploded onto the staircase and glided up them like he was walking on air.

"Guys; I'm gonna have to let you go, the Chieftain's almost _here_. Just be careful, alright?!!!" Luke reminded them, jumping over his new friends to confront the madman, his green slime raining down upon them as he did so.

Lyner and Shurelia proceeded up the stair, more slowly than before. "Maybe I should go first," Lyner said comfortingly, as he pulled ahead.

"Okay…" Shurelia said with a smile. "Lyner…I'm sorry about slapping you earlier!"

Lyner was taken aback from this sudden apology. "Y-you're welcome!"

"Lyner!! That's not what you're supposed to say when someone apologizes!" Shurelia exclaimed with a laugh.

"It doesn't matter, just…be quiet, ok?" Lyner murmured, trying to feel out what was in front of him. His eyes widened as he suddenly touched something slimy and scaly; it felt like a monster's face. "Wh- there's something there!!" he yelped.

"Oh my gosh, what?" Shurelia cried, but Lyner formed a fist and punched at the monster, but was shocked when his bare arm plunged into the monster's open mouth.

"Uh-oh!" Lyner yelled and tried to yank his naked arm out, but he was too late; the animal closed its mouth (hard) on his arm, snapping it clean off. Lyner screamed in pain, while Shurelia began to sing a song of healing, wanting to heal him as soon as possible.

Down below, Luke was getting pretty badly slashed up by the furious Chieftain as he tried to fight back using his mangled corpse cargo as a weapon. He was now on the floor, at the ruler's mercy. "You have CURSED us all into NAUGHT, Luke! You should have NEVER been born!" he roared, slashing down on Luke's thick seaslug blubber again and again. Luke angrily kicked at the mentally unstable man, knocking him down the rock stairs. It was then that Luke heard Lyner scream in pain from not far above him while his girlfriend began to sing beautifully.

"Hang on…Lyner…" Luke managed to squeak out, bleeding severely from several cuts in his flesh. As soon as he neared them, Luke saw two extraordinary things: a massive, red frog with huge, fearsome fangs above the two in the staircase, and Lyner's arm grow back out from a stump, a process that seemed to grant Lyner an enormous amount of pleasure. Luke then noticed an angel made out solid light floating above them, so he scampered under the rays of light showering out from within her, and his wounds were healed immediately.

"Ha-woooo!" Luke said in a toddler's voice. "That DID feel good!" Shurelia giggled at his comment.

"Shurelia, there's a monster right in front of us, sing ELMA-DS," Lyner said as the fearsome amphibian shot its strong neck out in an attempt to get another bite out of Lyner's chest. The naked knight was too quick, though, for he nimbly pivoted out of the way just as soon as he felt the cold teeth on his flesh.

Luke figured that they didn't stand a chance since against what they couldn't see, so he blubbered on up and whacked the amphibian roughly with his flipper on top of its head. However, being a flipper, it did little to no damage to the scaly beast, and it bared its fangs and sprang up in the air to devour Luke's massive seaslug form.

As Luke squeaked, Shurelia's eye slits flashed a vivid diamond hue, and an alien-looking white lion erupted out of her mouth, dashing through the giant frog and destroying it with an array of slashes.

Luke's jaw dropped. "Wha-aat?" He'd never seen such a spell before, and he was more than a little scared of his dainty companion now. "H-how did you…?"

Lyner stopped and listened, noticing an increasingly menacing clamor reverberate from the depths. "There's no time; we have to move NOW!" With that, he flew up the stairs, having grown accustomed to their relative individual heights.

Shurelia was not so fortunate, and tripped on her first step. Luke stooped down and helped her up with a grimy flipper. "It's gonna be alright, just run!" He explained kindly.

"I know, I know," Shurelia muttered and allowed Luke to help her up the stairs. They went as fast as possible until Luke unceremoniously collided into Lyner, who had stopped in front of a massive, golden archway, looking extremely out of place in this blue underworld.

"Wait a minute; do you hear that?" Lyner asked, as a gale of cold wind blew his long, bloodstained golden locks out behind him. "There is a…presence here!"

Luke looked behind him and saw the shadows of the various angry souls that wanted to butcher him. "Stop standing here, go in_side_ already!" he sang, nudging the heroes beyond the gateway with his massive seaslug buttocks and throwing Mimas's corpse on the ground. Luke reached out and pulled two massive wooden doors closed and bolted it once, leaning against it in relief. He sighed and looked around the room; it looked quite splendorous, and was filled with red-stained gold treasures, all surrounding an ancient sandstone alter, in which a massive golden sphere made entirely of little floating gemstones sat spinning.

Looking at this sphere, Luke suddenly heard a beautiful, honest murmur seem to emanate from it. He cocked his eyebrow. Was this what Lyner was hearing? "You guys, you _have_ to see this, it's _be_autiful in here!" Luke exclaimed.

"Well, er, normally I would, but not having any eyes is kinda slowing me down, you know?" Lyner said poutingly.

Luke's reverie was cut short, however, when a spear sliced through the door right next to him. This inspired Luke to yelp and jump away from the ancient gateway towards Lyner and Shurelia. "We're not out _of this YET!_" He sang in a crystal-clear voice.

Suddenly, the whole room flashed golden and an enormous floating mask erupted out of the spiritual globe. "Stand clear of the door!" it commanded in a wizened woman's voice, and a giant yellow beam blasted out the mask's mouth, decimating the entire wooden barricade attached to the archway.

"Look out!" Luke sang, pushing the others to the ground to avoid being nailed by the potent beam. As the energy raced over his head, however, it did not radiate heat like Luke expected it to, nor was it cold. Instead, it had a very distinct aura of pleasantness around it, so much that Luke almost smiled stupidly and rose into the blast.

The Tong-Rhok populace roared as the door disintegrated and the Chieftain led the way into the golden underground chamber. As soon as he dashed through, however, the eyeholes in the floating mask flashed a vivid blue and a gigantic blue barrier sealed off the entryway, effectively blocking any other villagers from coming in.

"Stop your advance, Chieftain!" the mask commanded in an abrasively loud voice. He froze in place wide-eyed, his sword held high above his head and dripping with Luke's blood.

"G-g-goddess of Love?" the chieftain said confoundedly. "What are you doing down here? Did Luke's disgrace harm your glory so much that you fell from heaven?"

"LUKE has found favor with me!" the mask declared, burning a dark crimson. "You would do well to not slight him any more or else I will be forced to kill you myself."

The chieftain's mouth dropped and he lowered his sword. Breathing easier, Luke aided Lyner and Shurelia back up to their feet.

"So you're the Goddess of Love?" Lyner asked, his brow furrowed. "Are you one of the Trio of Elemia?"

The mask laughed. "The Trio of Elemia? Hahahahaha, don't be foolish enough to think such a thing exists. Certainly, there were three heroic Reyvateils that helped to save the world long ago, but legend has painted them larger-than-life in years passed. No, I am not a Goddess at all, as a matter of fact, but a steward of sorts, left behind to better guide this tower into harmony."

"B-b-but of course you're a Goddess! How else could you have transformed me and the other Stotans into their animalistic forms?" Luke asked sweetly.

"Well, first of all, you all were not tapping into my power, but Mimas's instead, who had wrestled me from my throne on the beach and sentenced me to fifty years of darkness in this prison she designed for me." The mask nodded at the corpse on the ground. "However, I am pleased to see that this evil miscreant has been given what she deserved. Who is the perpetrator?"

Lyner took Shurelia's cold, slender hand in his and raised it above their heads. "We did, your highness. But we lost our sight and our comrades in the process," he said, his voice weary.

"You are to be commended, and also given the greatest honor that anyone in this Tower has ever received, Tong Rhok-ian or not." The mask swiveled in mid-air and nodded at Luke. "You are to be honored as well, noble and righteous Luke, for weakening the titan by ruining her false festival she put on."

"Wait, so the Honakugu festival this year was all contrived?" the Chieftain asked.

"Yes, you infidel; do not speak again unless you are spoken to, for I see you in great disgust now for failing to discern the difference between Mimas and I, and continuing to give her power by worshipping her," the mask bellowed. The Chieftain cried out and spluttered, but quickly silenced himself.

"Wait," Shurelia said. "You mean to say that it was only recently that Mimas wrestled your power from you? We were under the impression that she had been around for much longer."

"Yes, this is only the second Honakugu festival Mimas has had under her control. I had not heard from her for some time before that; indeed, not since the Sea of Death was first created."

"That's strange," Shurelia said, crinkling her nose. "Unless she just happened to find this town right when we did, which would be an odd coincidence in itself."

"Mimas told us that she was expecting a great surge of energy from the celebration," Lyner remembered out loud. "So, since it apparently failed, does that mean that it had a negative impact on her energy supply, thus leading to…well, what happened to her?"

"Yes," the Goddess of Love spoke. "And as her power was rapidly deleted, so her hold over me was lessened, and I was able to make a net of true love to catch all who plummeted into the Maw of the Mountain. Unfortunately, Mimas anticipated my actions, and used her natural element of water to steer herself towards the same net, in an attempt to undermine my return to power. Luckily, you two warriors halted her attempt at a recovery, and you must be thanked for it. Lady, what is your name?"

Shurelia curtseyed and said, "Lady Shurelia, your majesty, Tower Administrator of Ar Tonelico."

The mask's jaw dropped. "_AR TONELICO?!?_ Indeed this is a surprise. My lady, do you know at which tower you are currently located?" Shurelia shook her head. "This, my lady and sir, is the Tower Ign Saradorn, better known to you as the Second Amplification tower."

"The wha-??" Lyner gaped. "There's an entire tower hidden here by Nervocelambra's shield?"

"I never knew the tower was completed!" Shurelia exclaimed. "This is a fantastic revelation!"

"Well, I congratulate you on discovering this tower, for it is a very well-kept secret. One of the duties I have been charged with as steward is to keep our existence unknown to all outsiders, since a point of Tong-Rhok and Nervocelambra is that everyone is implicitly honest and trustworthy. However, this incident has proven to me that such a law is not only outdated, but incorrect. Saviors of my formerly great village, please take my thanks and these two gifts. Lady Shurelia, I present to you the return of your eyesight. May you use it well to guide your comrades wherever the road decides to take you."

"Wha-, REALLY?!" Shurelia exclaimed, having given up on eyesight altogether. As soon as the mask's eyes lit up with a brilliant white light, Shurelia's vision returned, her eyes rebuilding themselves vein by vein.

"Do not touch your newborn eyes for three minutes, to maintain their purity. I hope this gift pleases you?"

"Oh, YES, your majesty, this is the best thing you could ever give to me!" Shurelia said with excitement as her pupils were drawn out of thin air in her eye sockets. "But…all of our companions were killed in the battle with Mimas."

"No they weren't!" Luke asserted. "I spent some small time with them before the festival, they're a large, lively group of people."

"Yeah, that's them alright!" Lyner said wryly.

"Yes; even now they are searching for you in the abandoned village, never losing hope. And you, stoic knight, your name is Lyner?"

"Yes it is, do I get my balls back too?" Lyner said, causing Shurelia and Luke to stare at him in confusion, unbeknownst to him.

"As for you, I cannot grant you your eyes back as well, although I wish I could. It seems that Mimas targeted you specifically with her song, thus placing a permanent lock on your eyes, so that they'll never be able to come back. I'm sorry."

"Aww," Lyner's face fell. Shurelia beamed, despite herself, because now she could check him out as often as she liked without him knowing it, a tactic she decided to deploy immediately.

"I do have a noble gift for you, however." Suddenly a giant, glowing yellow hand erupted out of thin air from the globe, stopping right in front of Lyner. Embedded in the disembodied hand was the hilt of a sword. "In front of you is the handle of a sword, the likes of which have never been seen in your home tower. Draw it and use it well, for you have proven yourself able to do so in your actions."

Lyner nodded, and reached out, the Goddess's spirit guiding his hand towards the hilt. He gripped his massive right hand around it and pulled it out smoothly, revealing a magnificent sword of gilded steel, painted with a print of a bleeding griffin on its edges.

"Oh wow, it's beautiful!" Shurelia exclaimed, unable to contain herself. (She wasn't really talking about the sword, though, but was commenting on something lower)

"Thank you, your majesty," Lyner said, bowing deeply to the Goddess of Love. "It feels good to have a sword in my hands once again."

"You have earned it," the mask said. It looked at the Chieftain now. "Now it is your turn. Although you have proven yourself unreliable, I still have use for you. The wayward villagers do not deserve to be called citizens of great Tong-Rhok at this point, because of their sins these past two years. It is up to you to guide them, with my aid, back into the proper way of life I have taught for so long. Will you help them to rebuild and regrow the village, here in this cavern?"

"Y-yes, anything for you, most noble Goddess of Love," the Chieftain said, collapsing on his knees and bowing to her.

The Goddess snorted unceremoniously. "When you all prove yourselves worthy of the name 'Tong-Rhok' I will transport you back up to the village as I am about to do for Lyner and Lady Shurelia. I will join you back up on the beach as soon as my 50-year term of imprisonment in this chamber enacted by Mimas's powerful magic has expired."

After this was settled, the mask turned once again to Luke. "And you, Tong-Rhok of spirit but not of blood, what would you have me do? Shall I send you with Lyner and Lady Shurelia or shall I leave you here with the Chieftain to rebuild our fair society?"

"Your Majesty, I would like to accompany Lyner; the villagers absolutely despise me, and I'm sure they couldn't follow orders from the man who sent them down here in the first place." He paused. "Is there any way to revert me back to my human form?"

The mask shook her head. "As is the case with Lyner's eyes, Mimas's magic on your body is infinitely strong. There is no way to undo it that I know of. I…am sorry, my loyal Tong-Rhok. Very well then, I will now send you three away from this dreary prison of a cavern, and take that stinking corpse with you!"

"Y-yes your Majesty!" Luke squeaked and grabbed the burnt body of Mimas off the ground.

"Off you go then. It was a pleasure to meet such distinguished guests from Ar Tonelico. Your goodness gives me hope for the future of our tower, Lyner and Lady Shurelia," the mask said.

"Bye!!" Lyner and Shurelia said, waving cheerfully at the gift-giving Goddess of Love, as a great flash of green light blasted throughout the room, causing everyone but the Chieftain and the mask to disappear.

"Good luck, Chieftain Obsidian," the mask said as it lowered the shield. "Feel free to come back and ask me for any advice you have on the building of New Tong-Rhok."

* * *

(_Tong-Rhok City Streets_)

"Ly_nerr!_" Aurica called in her gorgeous voice, dashing around the abandoned city with Radolf's hand in hers.

"Aurica, maybe we should take a break," Radolf said, sighing. "We've been wandering through this place aimlessly for nearly two hours. Misha must have been imagining things."

"No! I refuse to believe that. Lyner's around here somewhere!" Aurica snapped. "We can't stop looking until we've found him!"

Hearing a very familiar chuckle from right in front of her, Aurica gasped and stopped short. "Well, I'm pleased to announce that you won't have to keep going for very much longer!" Lyner's voice said pleasantly, full of good cheer.

"L-LYNER!!!!" Aurica yelled, and jumped into him, hugging him as tightly and passionately as possible, causing Shurelia to frown in jealousy.

"Um, I'm here too!" Shurelia announced, and Aurica shyly let go with a blush, absentmindedly pulling a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I-I'm so glad you're safe!" Aurica said softly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, and I've got this sweet sword too!!" Lyner exclaimed, holding it above his head so she could see. Then he remembered. "Oh, wait, you can't see it, can you?"

"No, can you see again?"

"Nope!" Lyner said, still smiling. "But that didn't stop me and Shurelia from ripping Mimas to pieces. Luke, if you would be so kind?" he asked with a flair of his hand, and Luke presented Mimas's body. "This is her corpse. She's dead! You can even touch it, how awesome is that!?" Lyner exclaimed.

"Yay, really?!" Aurica squealed, while Radolf cheered. "That's amazing, how did you do it?"

"Oh, I'll tell you in a second. First, allow me to introduce our new companion, Luke!" he said, gesturing to the Seaslug Man beside him.

"Ohhh, we've already met!" Luke said with a grin.

"Uhhh, not with _that _voice we haven't!" Aurica said with a smile. "I didn't know you could talk like that! It's so adorable!"

Lyner slapped his hand to his face again while Luke laughed out loud at his newfound ability to pick up chicks by merely talking. At this moment, Misha and Ayatane, also hand-in-hand, came running up. "We heard Aurica yell as if she found Lyner," Ayatane explained. "Is it true?"

"Yeah buddy, I'm here!" Lyner said, and walked over to his friend's voice to give him a hug, but when they felt that the other was still naked, they both froze awkwardly and pulled away immediately.

"So Luke, now that we've found you and Lyner, we were wondering if you knew of any Dive Shops or armories around here!" Misha said sweetly, handily forgetting to mention Shurelia's name.

"Oh man, Dive Shops?" Luke laughed in his adorable voice (here Shurelia smirked knowingly as Aurica swooned at his style of speech). "I haven't heard of _those_ forever. Don't worry though, I made my own custom diving machine a long time ago in my workshop, if it wasn't torn down when I was sent to prison. We can head there now if you like, but what for?"

"Well, a friend of ours believes he can craft a song enabling vision for the entire team if he can only gain access to a diving pod," Radolf exclaimed.

"Oh, are you talking about Vincent?" Lyner asked.

"Yes."

"Hah, he would think that, the prick!" Lyner said with a goofy smile.

"Yes, but the question is, do we really want to continue on with this quest?" Misha asked. "I mean, these Quiad Reyvateils are much stronger than anyone expected them to be! Even with our vision restored, we will still have trouble beating the remaining ones! What are we fighting them for anyway?"

At this, Ayatane smacked her across the face, making her very angry. "How dare you! We can't give up yet! We still have to find Mir!"

"I think we should continue," Lyner said gravely. "From what we've seen, it's apparent that the Quiad Reyvateils are not only killing lots of people, but taking away their free will as well. I think we are the only ones who can stop them, and eliminating them is the only way the people of this Tower will be able to live their lives in safety and in freedom."

"Wait, wait, we're on a different tower?" Aurica asked, alarmed.

"Yeah, it's called Sarah-something," Lyner said, scratching his head in thought.

"Ign Saradorn, the Second Amplification Tower," Shurelia clarified.

"Okay then, let's head to my _lab_ and set up _base_ there for a while," Luke suggested. "Once we _get_ ther_e_, Shu_re_lia can go look around the town for the others while I rev up the diving machine."

"Okay, sounds fun, but I get to take Lyner!" Shurelia said, glaring at her rivals for Lyner's affections.

"Hang on, Shurelia can see? That's so not fair!" Misha declared.

"Look, don't worry," Radolf soothed. "If all goes according to plan, we'll all be able to see in no time."

"Alright, take us there, Luke!" Lyner said, not exactly knowing what to do with the giant golden sword he was armed with.

"_You got it!!_" Luke exclaimed cutely, suddenly feeling nauseous again at his own voice.

"And man?"

"Yeah?"

"DON'T say another word, or I swear I'll…" Lyner began.

Both Shurelia and Aurica slapped him for this. "LYNER!! Don't be so mean!" Aurica scolded him.

"Yeah! You can't stop someone from talking!" Shurelia exclaimed, causing Lyner to hang his head in dismay.

Misha rubbed her hands together; they were just making it too easy for her to snag her beloved from them.

* * *

A/N: And there's Murmur in the Dark! I hope you liked it. Don't worry, there's more to come soon! Do tell me your reactions, and/or if you think I should edit any parts of the story. Believe me, the action is only just getting started….

Next:

Rite of Slumber, Pt 2: Ign Saradorn


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